Naarajärvi, International co-production and collaborative agreements - the case of the Finnish film industry

This doctoral thesis explores the research topic through the case of the Finnish film industry by examining international film co-productions as alliances, the use and design of coproduction agreements as a basis for such international film co-production alliances, and the relevant and applicable legal regulation having influence on such alliances and co-production agreements. Moreover, this study follows a qualitative single-case study design, the primary empirical source of data consisting of ten interviews carried out in Finland in which Finnish film producers were the interviewees. As contributions, this multidisciplinary study enables the exploration of the research area from an extensive perspective, thereby contributing to the research on alliance contracting and the film industry. Based on the literature review and the legal structure, a conceptual framework is proposed for understanding international film co-production alliances based on co-production agreements and influenced by the different legal regulation. Furthermore, based on the empirical findings of this study, a process model is also proposed in order to identify different phases of the design of a co-production agreement from business and legal perspectives, one to be applied to international film co-productions in general, and the other to be applied to the Finnish film industry.