Mika Syvänen

In 1980, Finland’s most famous hypnotist Olavi Hakasalo, a.k.a Olliver Hawk, was put on trial. His mission in life had been to spread the gospel of the power of suggestion, and he was willing to risk everything to become a player of political influence on the big stage. But in the corridors of power, with a nation’s destiny at stake, an eccentric loudmouth sitting on too many secrets is considered a liability.

Set in modern day Helsinki, Finland, Virality portrays the lives of several main characters confronted with viral themes. The film links emerging viral aspects in our modern day societies, such as the spreading of news on the internet, with the viral nature of life itself, as in the storyline of a cancer patient being treated with virotherapy. Being primarily a crime film, the main storyline centers around a bitcoin heist that connects the lives of the main characters. Character storylines involve a young rapper searching for a breakthrough, a policeman who falls for an aspiring musician with a promising international career, a hacker choosing his own path and a cancer patient and a banker who reconcile ten years after the end of their marriage.

A successful thirtysomething couple find themselves at a financial dead end; they are faced with an extreme lifestyle change to pay for their debts. The luxury lifestyle ends when they are forced to move into a rented apartment in the suburbs. But to their friends, they hold up a facade and explain it all with downshifting.