Kaya Pakaslahti (b. 1990) is a Finland-Swedish screenwriter and director from Helsinki. Having produced work in Finnish, Swedish, and English, Kaya persistently explores cultural tensions and outsider dynamics in her 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 TV series for YLE: the psychological thriller Linda’s Room and the cringe comedy Limbo. She returned to direct the second season of Limbo 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. She developed Erottaja through the Nordic Film Lab at the Göteborg 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 Arcada University of Applied Sciences in Finland, Kaya continued her education in Sweden, studying dramatic writing at Biskops Arnö, followed by HDK-Valand’s MFA in Film Directing. 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 MIPCOM Cannes, the largest television trade show in Europe. 

Kaya also hosts the Swedish-language film and culture podcast True Romance with her frequent collaborator Sara Forsius.

Agent: Elin Sandström Lundh

SELECTED WORKS

Limbo Season 2 – TV series (conceptual director) - 2024
Linda’s Room – TV series (conceptual director) - 2024
Limbo – TV series (conceptual director) - 2023
My Mother’s Island – Short (writer/director) - 2022
Bathroom Stories – TV series (writer/director) - 2019
Badrumshistorier – Short film (writer/director) - 2017

Awards & NOMINATIONS

Nordic Film Lab 2024 Participant
Göteborg Film Festival

Limbo - 2023
Venla Gala, shortlisted for Best Youth Series

Svenska Kulturfonden
Svenska Kulturfonden’s Artist’s Work Grant for Film: Screenwriting – One year working grant for artists, 2020

Bathroom Stories - 2019 
Venla Gala – Nominated for Best TV Series

Serial Killer Festival – in competition for Best Web Series

Fresh TV-conference, MIPCOM, Cannes

MINIPUT festival screening, Barcelona

Badrumshistorier - 2017
Egilgalan –Awarded Best film, Best Screenplay and the Audience Favourite

LINKS

Link to Kaya Pakaslahti’s Vimeo

Link to Kaya Pakaslahti’s Instagram