Where was Little Siberia filmed? Major shooting locations for the Netflix film explored

Netflix’s Little Siberia is a Finnish dark comedy thriller directed by Dome Karukoski and adapted from Antti Tuomainen’s novel Little Siberia. The story centers on Joel, a war veteran who now serves as a small-town pastor.

His quiet life takes a sharp turn when a meteorite crashes into the remote village of Hurmevaara. As Joel scrambles to protect the rare rock, the film dives deep into themes of faith, crime, and personal reckoning amid a harsh Nordic winter.

While the story unfolds in Hurmevaara, the village itself doesn’t exist. To ground the narrative, the production headed to Nurmes in Finland’s North Karelia region. This real-life town, blanketed in snow and steeped in Karelian tradition, stood in for the fictional village.

Nurmes gave the film what it needed - a raw and isolated atmosphere. The biting cold and the vast snowy landscapes didn’t just set the mood but became part of the story itself. The crew leaned into the natural setting and let the landscape shape the tension on screen, giving Little Siberia its distinct and immersive feel.

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Although Little Siberia is set in Hurmevaara, the town itself is a fictional creation by Antti Tuomainen, who wrote the 2018 novel the film adapts

Netflix’s Little Siberia is based on Antti Tuomainen’s novel Little Siberia (2018).

Nurmes, North Karelia, Finland

Hurmevaara may only live within the pages of Antti Tuomainen’s novel, but the world of Little Siberia was brought to life far from fiction. The filmmakers chose Nurmes, a quiet town tucked away in the North Karelia region of Finland.

As moviedelic.com reported on Friday, Nurmes was the perfect stand-in. Its snow-covered forests and frozen roads echoed the isolated wilderness from the book.

The goal was simple yet ambitious which is to build a world that feels as bleak and lonely as the story demands. Nurmes, with its Karelian roots and intimate village vibe, became that world. Its landscape didn’t just match the setting. It became part of the story’s fabric.

The winter there pulled no punches. Snowfall arrived unannounced. Daylight hours disappeared too soon. The freezing air bit through every layer. As moviedelic.com explained, the production faced a daily battle against the elements. Every shoot had to be mapped out with care. Every scene was timed to make the most of what little light the Finnish winter would allow.

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Hurmevaara’s Visual Identity

Although Hurmevaara is not an actual village, its visual design is rooted in northeast Finland’s rural characteristics, as portrayed in Tuomainen’s novel.

According to india-itinerary.com, Hurmevaara was conceived as an isolated settlement within the Lieksa municipality in North Karelia, an area known for its wildlife, birdwatching and hiking trails. The film aimed to authentically replicate these visual elements using the surroundings of Nurmes.

The filmmakers utilized both natural and practical effects to ensure visual continuity. Artificial snow was used alongside natural snowfall to maintain the film’s cold and claustrophobic atmosphere across scenes. The production also employed heavy-duty vehicles to navigate treacherous roads leading to remote filming locations.

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Local expertise and production techniques

The crew’s familiarity with Finland’s rugged terrain proved essential to maintaining the film’s production schedule. Finnish crew members, experienced in working under harsh weather conditions, played a crucial role in overcoming environmental hurdles.

Local technicians specializing in winter cinematography, set construction, and costume design ensured the film’s aesthetic integrity remained intact.

Additionally, the cinematography team capitalized on the region’s diffused natural light caused by overcast skies, using it to enhance Little Siberia’s noir-like visual tone.

To address sound recording issues caused by wind and snow, advanced windshields and directional microphones were employed to preserve the film’s audio clarity.

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Little Siberia is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.