Kati Outinen receives a prestigious lifetime achievement award in Germany –

Kati Outinen will be honored with a lifetime achievement award. Elle Laitila

Actress Kati Outinen will receive a prestigious lifetime achievement award when Lüppek’s Nordic Film Days awards the Finnish actress on November 6.

Outinen has garnered international attention as the star of Aki Kaurismäki‘s films. The Finnish Film Foundation says in its press release that Outinen is this year’s guest of honor at the Lübeck Nordic Film Festival, where the honorary award will be given to him.

In the festival announcement, the artistic director Thomas Hailer gives reasons for choosing Outinen. Hailer praises Outinen’s face, which with the smallest gestures reveals the inner life of the main characters and brings a spotlight to the stories of marginal characters. It is also mentioned that Outinen has made Nordic cinema accessible to an international audience.

Outinen himself has influenced the films shown at the festival. The films he chose are all collaborations with Kaurismäki:

Shadows in Paradise (1988)

Match factory girl (1990)

Far away the clouds flee (1996)

Juha (1999)

A man without a past (2002)

Outinen has created a long career as an actor, starting already in the 70s. In 2002, she was awarded the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Aki Kaurismäki’s film A man without a past. In addition, he has won several Jussi awards.

At the 2024 Jussi gala, Outinen was awarded for his life’s work with Betoni-Jussi.