Background
Risto Jarva was born, grew up and went to school in Helsinki; he lived in his home in Topeliuksenkatu on the Töölö Market Square until his adulthood. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was eight years old. Risto grew into a lonely child who became absorbed in his play and games. He started doing photography at 12 years of age, later being appointed as the school photographer for all the classes of Apollon yhteiskoulu, when he started senior school there. Jarva's directing career started at a time when the old companies were closing their productions, and the audiences were shrinking because of TV and other factors. New small companies such as Jarva's Filminor had to start from the start, struggling to get the financing together for each of their films. Jarva was both an engineer and an artist. In directing his films, he worked at the intersection between technology and the humanities, bridging these two cultures. The conflict between technology gone wrong and a natural lifestyle is present in most of Jarva's films, and he does not avoid showing how sick people feel in the midst of technology and bureaucracy, efficiency and exploitation.
Risto Jarva died in a car accident on his way back from a private showing of his film Jäniksen vuosi , and the subsequent party.