Jope - Just Think for Yourself

Jope Ruonansuu was a much loved comedian in Finland. As a child he was bullied at school. He was picked on for being heavy. When he grew up he went on stage and made it stick. What he was best known for were his impressions. He could do more than a hundred and fifty public figures. He broke through in years when the country had one voice. As that single culture came apart his popularity grew. Later he had surgery for his health. Losing weight was not the only aim. He also wanted to leave behind what had stayed with him from childhood. After the surgery he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus. He did not stop working even so. With President Sauli Niinistö he started a campaign against bullying. It was to end with a joint visit to a school in his home town. Jope did not live to see the day, and Niinistö kept his promise. Jope Ruonansuu appears in the eighty eight minute documentary, a Finnish production Marko Talli finished in 2023.