JR29: The Hushed Regiment (2025)
The 94-minute documentary JR29: Vaiettu rykmentti ("JR29: The Hushed Regiment") premiered on 27 April 2025 in Kaustinen, Finland. I edited this film, did other post-production (and worked a bit on the sound effects, though it was Markku Riipi who was mainly responsible for the documentary’s sound editing), and also acted as an archive editor building the visual narrative. The film was largely made by the same team that was also behind Marokon kauhu – Dokumenttielokuva suomalaisesta taistelijasta ("The Terror of Morocco – Documentary Film about a Finnish Warrior", 2024).
2025 Trailer.
(CC: English subtitles)
This is the story of Jalkaväkirykmentti 29 (JR29), Finnish Infantry Regiment 29, which was assembled from Central Ostrobothnia for the Continuation War of 1941-44. The regiment advanced through bloody battles on Ladoga Karelia and Olonets Karelia to Petrozavodsk, where it arrived in October 1941, and continued until the trench warfare phase. JR29 often cooperated with Infantry Regiment 8 (later to be called “Regiment of the Unknown Soldier”, after Väinö Linna’s novel) and Infantry Regiment 50. The documentary examines not only the course of the battles, but also the meaning of the war on a human level.
The war campaign was not without friction between the regiment's commander Paavo Susitaival and his superior, Colonel Kaarlo Heiskanen, whose calm demeanour during his times as a Jäger in the First World War Germany had originally earned him the nickname “Kylmä-Kalle” (“Cold Carl”). Susitaival believed that he never received the appreciation from Heiskanen that Infantry Regiment 29 deserved for its achievements.
The expectation was for a quick summer war that would be over by harvest time. Instead, the fighting just went on and on, with no end in sight. Exhausted soldiers could refuse to continue their journey and ended up before a military court. In addition to telling the soldiers’ stories, the documentary also gives a voice to war orphans, not forgetting the role of the Lottas, female volunteers of the auxiliary paramilitary Lotta Svärd organisation.
The battle of Pryazha (Prääsä) borough in September 1941 was one of the most important stages when JR29 travelled towards Petrozavodsk. One of those who got killed in Pryazha was Matti Järvelä from Kaustinen. As raw material, I was given an old home video, perhaps filmed in the 1990s, in which Matti Järvelä’s battle comrade, Pentti Penttilä (1916 – 2009), an eyewitness who was there himself, tells the story of the chain of events that led to Matti’s death.
As my own editing job progressed, it was very moving to follow the sympathetic Penttilä's recollections, while knowing that the narrator is no longer with us. The original home video, filmed by Pentti Penttilä's grandson, has many more stories about the war journey. Due to lack of space, we decided to include only the Pryazha sequence from the video in the film. Pentti Penttilä's story is continued by Matti Järvelä's own daughters, who were left war orphans. Their part is perhaps the most emotional episode of the documentary, and when watching it, no viewer's eyes will remain dry. It has been over eighty years since the events. Still, grief follows the war orphan throughout her life.
There was some discussion among the documentary's creative team about what would be the exact focus of this documentary. Is this a documentary film only about Infantry Regiment 29 or is it about soldiers from Central Ostrobothnia in general? The film includes interviews with war veteran Reino Keski-Sipilä of Rautio municipality, now part of Kalajoki. Keski-Sipilä was born in 1925 and it was the Häme Cavalry Regiment where he served, not Infantry Regiment 29. Similarly, Heimo Mäenpää from Kokkola talks about Juhani Marttila (1916 - 1986), the founder of Pukumies, a local menswear store, who was a Captain in Infantry Regiment 50. The material filmed for the documentary about life on the home front mostly had to be cut from the actual film, and the interview with Erkki Kujala focusing on the subject was published as a separate YouTube video.
The documentary has been enthusiastically received, and there has been some positive feedback on my own editing, too. Of course, there have also been those, usually older viewers, who think the editing rhythm should have been slower, while younger viewers are used to faster-paced visual storytelling.
The amount of material and limiting the work to a length that can still be watched in one sitting are probably challenging questions for almost everyone who works on a documentary film. These also determine the editing solutions, as it is often necessary to condense the material and say a certain thing or present a single sequence, in the shortest possible time. And yet make these cuts without the whole thing suffering, so that it remains an intact work. Not to mention that the editing project has to be completed by the deadline, which often does not give too many opportunities to hone the work into its most ideal form before it is already in front of the audience. Editing is an art of many compromises.
The film's co-director, Pauli Poranen, stated about the editing rhythm of the JR29 documentary:
"As the film progresses, the rhythm and editing of peacetime speech change to resemble the experience of the human eye and ear during wartime, into an emotional, but not sentimental dramaturgy of momentary flashes, whereas the more serene parts in the documentary make it easier to receive that intense experience."
The war path of JR29 is bordered by Medvezhyegorsk (Karhumäki) in the north, River Svir (Syväri) in the south.
Finding and selecting maps for the document was a separate task of its own. Illustrating the Regiment's progress and battle locations with the help of relevant maps required its own research.
I received various maps of the JR29 war trail through both Lauri Hietaniemi and Pekka Kivelä. Ari Raunio allowed us to use the general maps of the battles of Lake Ladoga and Olonets Karelia found in the book Jatkosodan hyökkäystaisteluja 1941 (“Offensive Battles of the Continuation War in 1941”) by Yuri Kilin and Raunio (published by Karttakeskus in 2007).
Many more detailed maps of the battle areas were found through military history websites. Valuable sources were, for example, the Sotahistorialliset kohteet, Sotapolku and Sotasampo websites.
A documentary that follows a cinematic narrative and is viewed in real time is a different format than a non-fiction book or an article published in a newspaper or online. The readers can examine and explore the map at their own pace, getting to know the details with time, but a documentary film cannot stay still for very long, but must move on to the next thing, the next scene or episode.
Some viewers who saw the raw version felt that the documentary had maps that flashed during the viewing all too quickly. I tried my best to extend the duration of some of the maps seen in the film, but I admit that there is a problem, because of the large amount of maps found in the documentary. Either the overall length of the film should have been extended, or some other material should have been removed from the documentary.
The graphic design of the various maps in the documentary also varies greatly, because they were compiled from many different sources and we did not have a professional graphic designer who would have created a uniform visual appearance for the maps.
2024 Trailer.
(English subtitles)
I did my part remotely from Tampere, while the actual filming of the interviews and other production took place in Kokkola and Central Ostrobothnia. The directors are Pauli Poranen (who is seen in the dramatised scenes as Lieutenant Colonel Paavo Susitaival) and Markku Riipi (of Kpedu, also known as The Federation of Education in Central Ostrobothnia/Media Centre Lime). Pekka Kivelä, Press Councillor Honorary, is responsible for the screenplay, production and distribution of the film. Lauri Hietaniemi, a sotakamreeri and non-fiction writer, is the military history expert for the documentary.
A raw edit version of Lauri Hietaniemi's interview, here not exactly as it is in the final film.
(No subtitles)
The film, which also has elements of a drama documentary, is written from the perspective of a private who participated in the war. The narrator responsible for the voiceover is Aaro "Arppa" Airola. His rhythm of the speech is calm, the story is presented in a clear Central Ostrobothnian dialect. His character remains faceless and nameless, but is a kind of everyman representing all privates, who anchors the viewer in the middle of the events. Arppa brings a kind of innocence of a country boy to the character of the narrator. He is thoughtful and compassionate, does not comment on the events from above with the omniscient voice of an expert and is not a hardened and cynical grunt, either, but rather marvels at everything he sees and experiences.
Arppa Airola is known not only as an actor, but also as a singer-songwriter. Furthermore, in the documentary he performs the song 'Vielä taistellaan' (Still Fighting), written by Aaro Kentala (1920 - 1991) from Kaustinen during the Continuation War. Outi Airola is responsible for the second voiceover in the documentary.
Arppa doing the voiceover for the film. He is not seen in the film itself.
(English subtitles)
Apart from the interviews, the documentary's narrative is based on the voiceover text written by Pekka Kivelä and performed by Arppa Airola. Arppa is not seen once in the film, we only hear him speak. My own task was to put together a visual story that progresses to support the narration. Otherwise, the documentary would have become a radioplay, not a film, which is what it was intended to be. Here I put together the documentary’s visual narrative from wartime photographs, archive films and maps, both old and new, from various sources.
For the production of the documentary, I received a large number of old photographs taken at the front, from the estates of Central Ostrobothnian soldiers, for example from that of Pentti Penttilä. I supplemented them with freely available frontline photographs from SA-Kuva military archive, taken during the war by Finnish battlefield photographers working for information companies. Their work in the midst of battles was extremely dangerous, still SA-Kuva's archive is huge. The battlefield photographers were present in almost all key situations and at key locations. The women volunteers of Lotta Svärd organisation, the home front and civilians were also regularly photographed. In addition to the SA-Kuva material, photographs from the period, including from villages in East Karelia, were found in the Finna service, which compiles photographic material from the collections of Finnish museums.
Finnish information companies were also responsible for the wartime film footage shown in the documentary, originating from the wartime Defence Forces Reviews, the rights to which are now owned by KAVI, the National Audiovisual Institute. (The material used in the JR29 documentary is, to be precise, from Reviews numbers 13, 14 and 15, all from 1941.)
These were supplemented by documentary film clips filmed by the Soviets and the Allies, which are freely downloadable from the Wikimedia Commons. Among them is also documentary material from the Nazi era that ended up in the hands of the Russians.
I was already familiar with the use of photographs as film illustrations from my previous projects. I have considered the short science fiction film La Jetée, directed by Chris Marker in 1962, to be a kind of model and inspiration. The film, made almost entirely with still images, brilliantly demonstrates how a film's dramatic visual narrative and story can be built solely from photographs, i.e. without moving images.
Press screening of the JR29 documentary in Kokkola (April 2025).
(No subtitles)
The documentary has so far been shown mainly in the Central Ostrobothnia region, but screenings are planned elsewhere as well. In Helsinki, the film has been shown at the Central Library Oodi and screenings are also planned in other large cities of Finland. The documentary has also been shown at events organised by various national defence organisations. So far, the film has been seen by over 3,600 viewers and additional orders are constantly being received. The film is not currently being distributed to any streaming service, but the creators have wanted to organise community experiences in localities. Since young people are an important target group for the documentary, the film has also been shown to schoolchildren, mainly middle school students. Additional distribution is currently being planned. Time will tell whether the documentary will also arouse interest outside Central Ostrobothnia or even the whole of Finland.
Screenings 2025
27 April. Kaustinen: The Folk Arts Center (documentary premiere).
16 May. Lohtaja: Maininki Sports Hall.
19 May. Kaustinen: Kino.
21 May. Kokkola: Bio Rex.
21 May. Lohja: Meriturva Auditorium.
23 May. Kalajoki: Virtasali.
23 May. Kannus: Juhani Vuorinen School.
23 May. Kalajoki: Virtasali.
24 May. Kokkola: Bio Rex.
24 May. Kaustinen: Kino.
25 May. Kokkola: Vartiolinna.
25 May. Kalajoki: Virtasali.
28 May. Perho: Perhonsali.
15 June. Toholampi: Kulttuurisali.
1 July. Rautio: School.
14 July. Kokkola: Ykspihlaja Old School.
28 August. Veteli: Sports Hall.
2 September. Sievi: Vääräjokisali.
11 September. Vihti: Luksia Auditorium.
24 September. Helsinki: Central Library Oodi.
8 October. Imatra: Immola (a private event).
30 October. Jalasjärvi: Kino Jalasjärvi.
2 November. Jalasjärvi: Kino Jalasjärvi.
3 November. Hämeenlinna.
2 December. Lohja: Lohja Library.
9 December. Ylivieska: Akustiikka.
The future
A vast amount of material was filmed for the film, and there was a lot left over. At least one additional episode of this (interview and archive material) is now being planned (links to others below), which I will probably be responsible for most of (and as long as I have the necessary technical facilities to make it).
Tauno Hakala (1922 - 1999) from Perho was one of the most interesting characters whose archive interviews were used in the JR29 documentary film. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the material was included, the sequences in which Hakala talks about the death of Captain Kärnä and the episode in Petrozavodsk, when the soldiers of JR29 got to know the city with their commander Paavo Susitaipale. The audio recording from the 1990s contains many other war stories of Tauno Hakala. Hakala, assigned as a submachine gun trooper and runner, was a hearty daredevil who had gone to the Winter War when he was only 17 years old, having previously forged his father's signature on the guardian's consent paper, which was required of a minor. Tauno's brother was killed in the Continuation War. Tauno tried to get permission from his company commander to attend his brother's funeral, but the superior had refused. So, after a sleepless night, in the morning Tauno had marched to meet the chief with a submachine gun and asked again for permission to go to the funeral. This time, the permission had been granted. In an unused interview section, this story is told by another Perho resident, Antti Hietaniemi, who knew Tauno Hakala.
The story of Tauno's wife Soja (Seija) Hakala (1924 - 2021) is also worth telling. Soja Hakala was from Suojärvi, of the legendary Hyrsylä Bend. During the Winter War, in January 1940, the 15-year-old Soja (née Peura) and her family were interned by the Russians in the Interposyolok (Interposolka) prison camp, where they were held until May. On the way to the camp, many prisoners, including small children, had frozen to death in the bed of a lorry. Eventually, Soja ended up in Perho, Central Ostrobothnia, as an evacuee, and there she married Tauno Hakala. Hopefully, sometime in the future, another supplementary video for the JR29 documentary project will be compiled from the couple's interviews and the deleted sequences with Antti Hietaniemi.
In Finnish:
Keskipohjanmaa (27 April 2025)
A feature story at YLE (4 June 2025)
An interview with Marja-Leena Leskelä.
(No subtitles)
Home front: an interview with Erkki Kujala.
(No subtitles)
Infantry Regiment 29: Events in Chronological Order
Offensive Phase in 1941
7 – 12 July 1941: Tsiipakka, Ilomäki and Havuvaara
25 – 26 July 1941: Hyrsylä, Ignoila, Yläjoki
31 July – 25 August 1941: Peski, Somba, Prokkoila, Mikkelijoki River
2 – 4 September 1941: Salmenitsa (Salmenniska), Säämäjoki River, Mikkelijoki River
5 – 6 September 1941: Salmenitsa (Salmenniska), Kindasovo (Kinnas)
6 – 9 September 1941: Lake Syamozero (Säämäjärvi) (River Suna), Pryazha (Prääsä)
19 – 23 September 1941: Valkealampi
23 September 1941: Matrossa
29 September 1941: Vilga
(9 – 15 October 1941: Petrozavodsk – JR29 in reserve)
15 – 22 October 1941: Shuya River (Suoju)
28 October 1941 – 20 June 1944: Trench warfare phase at River Svir (Syväri)
JR29 was disbanded in March 1942, when those born in 1911 and earlier were demobilised. The remaining 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment (I/JR29) became the 4th Battalion, 15th Brigade (IV/15.Prikaati) on 5 July 1943, and the companies were given the numbers 13, 14, 15 and 16 (former KKK/JR29).
Retreat phase in 1944 from River Svir to Lake Nietjärvi: IV/15th Brigade
23 – 24 June 1944: Tuloksa (Tuulos) landing and Piži-Vitele encirclement battle
15 – 20 July 1944: Lake Nietjärvi defensive battle
(Compiled by Lauri Hietaniemi.)
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