A quiet guy born and raised in the northern part of Finland, right next to Santa Claus’ village in the Arctic Circle. During the cold winters there was nothing else to do, but to see every movie showing at the local theater. This created a young filmmaker with a true passion to the world of cinema.

 
As a teenager Pete started to shoot short VHS horror movies and narrative music videos for local bands. A few years at film school led him to directing commercials and music videos in Helsinki, where his exceptional style made him one of the most wanted names in the industry. At the age of 25, Pete had his first retrospective at a music video festival and was awarded with a lifetime achievement award in 2008.

 
Pete’s commercial work is a combination of unique visual style and solid cinematic storytelling. Skillfully placed music creates an original mood and genuine emotionality. He cleverly combines different genres, creating warm stories with a big heart. This strong emotional side makes his work truly stand out and touches the heart of a very wide audience.

In 2015, an ad Pete directed for Wrigley’s Extra became an instant international sensation with over 80 million views and 2 million shares in just the first few days. It was shared by Ellen DeGeneres, Zooey Deschanel and Good Morning America, among other famous names. Many headlines stated that ‘the romantic movie of all time is actually a gum commercial’. YouTube chose it the most emotional ad of 2015 and people commented wanting it to see it as a feature film.

 
At the moment Pete is developing several feature films in Europe and USA, many of them originating from his own ideas. He is also constantly keeping busy by directing commercials all over the world with the top agencies, for brands such as VW, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Renault and McCain’s. No matter what the format or scale is, every project always gets his full attention and is done with the same passion.

 
Over a decade in the business and plenty of awards later, Pete still is the same humble man from the north as he was in the beginning.