Rich is the Life (2018)

Following a 20 year career at Nokia mobile phones, Marko Lauronen was diagnosed with crippling manic depression. Over the space of a year the realisation slowly dawned on him that he could no longer function in mainstream society. When faced with the heartbreaking choice of a big life change or the possibility of not being able to continue living Marko chose to leave his family and lifestyle behind to rekindle his boyhood passion for gold prospecting. Rich is the Life is a cinematic documentary which follows Marko on his quest to find some of the purest gold on earth, hidden deep within the heart of the arctic circle. Marko takes us on a journey through the frozen tundras of Lapland as he intimately explores his own gold fever and its complex relationship with his depression, alongside his passion for the world he inhabits. Through Marko's story, the film aims to provide a rare insight into a lifestyle which is quickly becoming extinct.