Essays are written on the major films by film scholars and critics. Each volume includes several indexes. The volumes are illustrated with still and production photographs. The work is published in Finnish, and the guide to the use of the filmography and the headings are translated into Swedish and English. The first volume was published in 1989, work on each volume takes one and half years.
Research is already underway on the forthcoming ninth volume.
The ten volumes project is scheduled to be completed in 2002. The reference work provides the definitive record of the Finnish motion picture heritage. It was created to help researchers, film scholars, journalists, students and film lovers to study the Finnish cinema. The Finnish film pioneers have received it with pleasure. The national filmography is edited by the Finnish Film Archive, and it is published by Edita Ltd. , Helsinki.