News

What drives success in the film and audiovisual industries? New research to support growth and competitiveness

Published: 9.2.2026

Aalto University Department of Film is leading a €1.6 million Co-Innovation research project, SmartSuccessAV, funded by Business Finland. The project aims to gain new research-based knowledge on how success in the Film and AV industry is managed and how decision-making is structured as production, financing, and distribution structures change.

Johanna Wartio, Susanna Helke and Ilkka Matila Aalto University. — From left to right: Elements of Success research group doctoral researcher Johanna Wartio, project director Professor Susanna Helke, and Elements of Success research group doctoral researcher Ilkka Matila. Photo: Matti Ahlgren

The operating environment of the film and audiovisual sector is changing rapidly. Funding logics, distribution platforms and competitive dynamics have become more complex, and decisions are being made in increasingly unpredictable conditions. The global competitiveness of production ecosystems operating in small language areas depend ever more strongly on strategic management and decision-making.

The three-year SmartSuccessAV research project (2026–2029) brings together the academic research expertise and the ambition of the companies involved to renew, grow and strengthen their competitive position in the industry. The project examines success in the film and audiovisual sector in terms of structures, value chains and strategic agency. The research analyses the institutional and market-based frameworks within which decisions are made, the management logics that guide choices and the connections between these, and transformation in the industry in small language areas.

From the perspectives of academic research and production studies, SmartSuccessAV is a significant project, as it facilitates long-term, critical and independent analysis of the structures of the Film and AV industries, as well as the conditions for decision-making. The study examines the frameworks in which key policies are made, and how success is understood and defined in different operating environments.

Johanna Wartio, Doctoral researcher, Elements of Success research group, Aalto University

The research project director is Professor Susanna Helke and the research is carried out by the Elements of Success (Menestys) research group in film production studies - doctoral researchers Johanna Wartio, Heidi Rintala and Ilkka Matila - together with postdoctoral researcher Eliisa Vainikka.

Impactful research across the whole value chain

In the SmartSuccessAV project, the research group and industry partners collaborate closely across the entire value chain. Companies open their production environments, workflows, and strategic decision-making processes to researchers, taking an active role in generating new insights. Rather than simply acquiring results, they become contributors to the new research-based knowledge generated by the research team.

Business Finland Co-Innovation funding strengthens production studies research at Aalto University and enhances companies' research capabilities. It also accelerates the adoption of research results within the industry and supports the development of new global products and export across the sector.

Making Movies Oy, Post Control Helsinki Oy are involved in the consortium with their own research projects. With Business Finland grant, the companies can focus on the research, while also increasing their research and development intensity. Bio Rex Cinemas Oy is also a consortium member with their internal research project. “Industry disruptions and transformations should not only pose challenges, but also create opportunities. We see great potential in collaboration that crosses traditional industry sectors and boundaries,” says Pauliina Piipponen, producer at Making Movies.

The project’s steering group member companies brings together representatives from Making Movies, Post Control Helsinki, Bio Rex Cinemas, Nordisk Film, Elisa Viihde, Reinvent Yellow, Fireframe, Good Hand Film and TV, Cyon Media, Yle and the research unit of the Finnish Film Foundation (SES).

Nordic production environments are increasingly operating as part of an international system. Research analysing audiovisual structures in small linguistic areas provides insights with broader European significance.

Katarina Nyman, Director of Film Distribution, Nordisk Film

Competitiveness is shaped within a global operating environment, and the project collaborates with the University of Copenhagen and the University of Warwick to incorporate international academic expertise and insight.

The focus of the project aligns with the strategic objectives of Business Finland and the Finnish government's Growth Strategy for the Creative Economy, both of which emphasise long-term growth and international competitiveness in the creative industries.

Smart Management and Decision-Making for Success in the Film and AV Industry: Advancing the Global Competitiveness and Strategic Leadership SmartSuccessAV Co-Innovation -research project is funded by Business Finland.