I'M A GUITARIST -DOCUMENTARY

New documentary follows guitarist Markus Venehsalo's journey from Nilsiä to international stages

The film is not a band biography, but a portrait: it follows Venehsalo through festival shows, music video shoots, interviews, and his childhood home in Nilsiä. The documentary asks what two decades of discipline and practice actually require, and what really lies beneath playing guitar.

The documentary began with a single phone call.

"Jani and I talked on the phone for well over an hour, right before my first show with Beast In Black. Maybe there was something in how I was feeling that stuck with him, because by the end of the call, Jani wondered aloud why he shouldn't make a documentary about me", Markus recalls.

"Markus has real backbone and an uncompromising work ethic. Combine that with an easygoing Savo charm, and you've already got the makings of a somewhat longer documentary", says documentary filmmaker Jani Snellman.

"Markus and I joke a lot about talent and luck. It's an easy explanation from the outside. Sure, there have been contributing factors, but once you've seen up close the work that's gone into it, you know that's not what it was."

Filming will continue through the end of 2026, and the documentary will be released in 2027.