Linda´s Room

Kaya
Pakaslahti

KAYA PAKASLAHTI (b. 1990) is a Finland-Swedish screenwriter and director from Helsinki.

Having produced work in Finnish, Swedish and English, cultural tensions and outsider dynamics are persistent fascinations in Kaya’s work. Other core interests include co-dependent relationships, group mentality and power struggles.

As a director, she has worked extensively in both drama and comedy, including two recent series for YLE, psychological thriller LINDA’S ROOM and “cringe comedy” LIMBO. She is returning to direct LIMBO season two in spring 2024 for YLE.

Outside of her prolific television work, Kaya is currently developing her debut feature, EROTTAJA/THE DIVIDER, a Helsinki-set romantic comedy about an unusual love triangle. Kaya is developing EROTTAJA through the Nordic Film Lab at The Gothenburg Film Festival, which she was invited to attend in January 2024. Other upcoming projects include the feature film, MAGPIE, a dark comedy about the boundaries between private relationships and the cannibalism of artistry. Kaya is also working on a new short film, exploring the same theme.

After completing her BA in Film and television at Finland’s Arcada University, Kaya continued her education in Sweden in Dramatic Writing at Biskops Arnö followed by HDK-Valand’s MFA Film Directing program. After leaving film school, her graduation work BATHROOM STORIES was developed into an 18-episode series for the national broadcaster YLE in 2019. Kaya wrote and directed every episode of the comedy-drama, which was the first Finland-Swedish series to be screened at MIP COM Cannes, the largest television trade show in Europe.

Kaya also hosts the Swedish-language film and culture podcast TRUE ROMANCE (link) with her frequent collaborator Sara Forsius.

Agent: Gro Janarv

SELECTED WORKS
LINDAS ROOM - TV series (conceptual director/all episodes) - 2024
Watch trailer
Watch here at YLE

LIMBO - TV series (conceptual director/all episodes) - 2023
Watch trailer
Watch here at YLE

MY MOTHER’S ISLAND - Short film (writer/director) - 2022

BATHROOM STORIES - TV series (writer/director) - 2019
Watch here at YLE

BADRUMSHISTORIER - Short film (writer/director) - 2017
Watch at Vimeo / Password: BathroomStories

Linda (15) dreams of focusing on boxing and just surviving her final year of school. She meets Kristian, who offers to tutor her – but secretly wants to learn how to win her heart. A drunken party turns their relationship upside down and unlocks a Pandora’s box inside Linda, one she hadn’t dared open before.