Aki Kaurismäki to announce shock retirement?

Sad news for Kaurismäki fans. Speculation had been rife that the Finnish director best known for the movie Fallen Leaves, is about to announce his retirement from all public activities, at age 69, with immediate effect.

UPDATE 12/08/2026 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Being a director isn't fun anymore

“As we get older, there are phases of life that we enter into, and being a director-screenwriter just isn't fun anymore,” he might have said, says a source who remained anonymous. Other reports hinted that he may branch out into other creative fields he is better at (and more interested in), though they didn't provide any details.

#ThankYouAki

For a little while on Tuesday evening, #ThankYouAki was a trending hashtag on Twitter. As many fans reminisce and look back on all the unforgettable memories, some may wonder what about now made him make the decision.

“Aki Kaurismäki was unlike any other director we’ve ever seen! #ThankYouAki”
— @universalObserver, 11 Aug 2026

“Didn't Aki Kaurismäki retire about 3 years ago?”
— @samy2love, 11 Aug 2026

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