Short Form Series - Premiering 31/10/2026

GRIND

3 × 3-5 min.

Grind is an episodic short-form series with surreal horror. It was developed for Yle - the Finnish Broadcast Company. The series is published in two formats: in a vertical format in Instagram at Areena Stories, and a wide-screen format at Yle Areena.

Synopsis:

Three young adults push their mental and physical limits through the small hours of the night.

Game developer Mike grinds through overtime, racing against a deadline. Athletic Nea pushes herself toward peak performance, training until she can taste blood. Rideshare driver Alvina works a triple shift, chasing the next commission.

When the clock strikes 3:31, reality begins to unravel.

In the darkest hour of the night, Mike, Nea and Alvina each experience a strange encounter that forces them to confront a terrifying truth: you can’t burn the candle at both ends without consequences.



GENRE Horror, Nordic Weird

YEAR OF PRODUCTION 2026

COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION Finland

DURATION   3 × 3-5 min. episodes

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE Finnish

PRODUCTION COMPANY Mental Films

MAIN CAST:

Miro Lopperi — Voice from the Dark (voiced by) / Trainer / The Passenger (voiced by)

Youssef Asad Alkhatib — Mike

Emma Kakkonen — Nea

Meri Luukkanen — Alvina

Leo Ikhilor — The Passenger

CREW:

PRODUCER Antris Bonsdorff

1st AD Sakri Arkimies

WRITER-DIRECTOR Veera Lamminpää

CINEMATOGRAPHER Arttu Liimatta

GAFFER Marko Pyykkönen

1st AC Leevi Kollanus

COSTUME DESIGN Kaisa Savolainen

HAIR & MAKE-UP Sanna Sääski

PRACTICAL VFX Julius Sepponen / Otus Workshop

PRODUCTION DESIGN Aki Tarkka

SOUND DESIGN Juhana Vihervaara

EDITOR Erik Vartiainen