Jack Witikka | |
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| Born | (1916-12-20)20 December 1916 |
| Died | 28 January 2002(2002-01-28) (aged 85) Helsinki, Finland |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1951-1981 |
Jack Witikka (20 December 1916 – 28 January 2002; surname until 1942Jakobsson) was a Finnishfilm director andscreenwriter. He directed 15 films between 1951 and 1968.[1] His 1961 filmLittle Presents was entered into the12th Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
Witikka's father was Evert Jakobsson , the unofficial world record holder and Olympic representative, deputy judge and insurance director.[3]
Witikka studied theater in England and the United States, among other places. He began his career as an advertising manager at Paramount Films Oy and as a managing director at Parvisfilm (1946–48).[4] In 1949, Witikka started work as a director at theFinnish National Opera and Ballet, from where he moved to theFinnish National Theatre in 1953. At the theatre Witikka served as director, financial manager, (1953–57), deputy director (1957–69) and director (1969–80). After working as a freelance director for a couple of years, he became the director of theSwedish Theatre in Helsinki in 1982. He resigned in 1987.[5] He was well known for directing modernist plays at a time when it was still rare and conservative plays were the norm. For example he stagedSamuel Beckett'sEndgame andSlawomir Mrozek'sTango.[6]
Witikka began making short films in the late 1940s. He was awarded theJussi Award for Best Short Film for the 1949 filmBefore the Premiere.[7] His feature film directorial debut wasAila – Pohjolan tytär (international title:Arctic Fury) (1951).Michael Powell was a producer of the film, alongside Witikka and Blomberg. The film was initially planned for international distribution, but it failed to reach expected popularity in Finland. Cinematographer Erik Blomberg was awarded a Jussi for his work on the film.
In 1954, Witikka's fantasy filmPessi ja Illusia was completed, based on a fairy-tale ballet composed by Ahti Sonninen based on Yrjö Koko. Prior to that, the biography of the composer Gabriel Linsén,Mä oksalla ylimmällä, had premiered, through which Witikka's collaboration with author Walentin Chorell began. It continued with the expressionist adult fairy tale filmThe Puppet Dealer and theBeautiful Lilith (1955). It is the story of an anonymous state where play is prohibited. Absurdist comedyMotherless (1958), which Witikka had arranged for the theater, was the third joint project of Chorell and Witikka. It is full of sexual symbolism, special characters and situations. Maikki Länsiö's deliberately over-played role character was praised.Motherless is a rare example of an almost surreal Finnish film.
Between the last two Chorell films, Witikka directedSilja - Sleeping Young (1956), a second film adaptation of Frans Emil Sillanpää's classic novel of the same name. The first was directed byTeuvo Tulio in 1937, but all its copies were destroyed in the fire of the Adams film studio in 1959. The screenwriter for the Sillanpää filming was Juha Nevalainen, who wrote the screenplay for Edvin Laine'sThe Unknown Soldier. Nevalainen and Witikka continued their collaboration in the filmMan from this Star (1958). It was a starkly realistic depiction of an alcoholic that had not been seen in a Finnish film before. The actors did not wear any stage makeup.
In the following years, Witikka's film career continued mainly with light comedies such asVirtaset and Lahtiset (1959) andIloinen Linnanmäki (1960). They were Witikka’s only color films, but critics didn’t appreciate them.
Witikka's last film wasLittle Presents (1961), which was an adaptation of Simo Puupponen's novel of the same name. A warm tale of the residents of a Helsinki-based wooden house block has been considered as one of Witikka's best.
Witikka was the first chairman of theNational Audiovisual Institute, founded in 1957, in 1957–67.
In 1945–1959, Witikka was married to Lilli Anita Soini, the daughter of opera singer Oiva Soini. From 1961, Witikka's wife was actress Tea Ista[1]
Witikka died on 28 January 2022 at the age of 85 after a prolonged illness.[6] He is buried in theHietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.[8]
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