Janna is an independent documentary filmmaker based in New York City and Helsinki.
She works with clients as a freelance director, producer and editor to tell impactful and engaging visual stories. Previously, as Senior Producer and Editor of Multimedia at Human Rights Watch, she created compelling visual content on global human rights stories, reaching tens of millions of viewers and advancing some of the most difficult issues of our time.
In her films, Janna strives to examine the stories we tell, with a distinct sensitivity for the mythical, metaphysical and subjective. She holds a master's degree in political history from the University of Helsinki, and is a past fellow of the Union Docs documentary arts collaborative studio in New York.
For all inquiries, please email jkyllastinen[at]gmail.com
SELECT FILMOGRAPHY | DIRECTOR
IRIA | feature documentary | in production
Noumenon | short documentary | 2024
Along the Winisk River | short documentary | 2020
Out of Nothing | short documentary | 2018
Remembering Forgetting | short documentary | 2016
Division Avenue | short documentary | 2015
SELECT GRANTS
The Canada Council for the Arts
Finlandia Foundation New York
The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture Finland AVEK
The Art Foundation Finland
SELECT SCREENINGS AND OUTLETS
Criterion Channel | PBS Public Broadcasting Service | CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | Brooklyn Film Festival | Big Sky Documentary Film Festival | Helsinki Short Film Festival | ImagineNATIVE | Imagine Science Film Festival | Athens Ethnographic Film Festival | Vienna Jewish Museum | Harvard University | Brooklyn Public Library | Smithsonian Showcase at the Museum of the American Indian | Māoriland Film Festival | Lofoten International Art Festival | Australian Centre for the Moving Image ACMI | Environmental Film Festival DC | Human Rights Arts & Film Festival Australia | Human Rights Watch Film Festival
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
The New York Times | Newsweek | The Independent | Filmmaker Magazine
AWARDS
Official Winner | Symbiosis Award | Science New Wave Film Festival 2024 | Noumenon
Winner | Best Sound Design | Barcelona Indie Awards 2025 | Noumenon
Winner | Best Spiritual Film | New York Tri-State International Film Festival 2025 | Noumenon
Special Mention | New Delhi Film Festival 2025 | Noumenon
Winner | Documentary Short | WorldFest - Houston International Film Festival 2025 | Noumenon
Best Documentary Short Nominee | American Indian Film Festival | Along the Winisk River
Best Social Media Campaign | Center for Media and Cultural Freedom | No Longer Alone
Best Experimental Film | Brooklyn Film Festival | Division Avenue
Best Student Film | United Film Festival New York | Into Noise