The concept of sisu – used to refer to guts or inner strength – is often talked about as the source of Finnish happiness.

And Guts, a hit Finnish TV series about top female cross-country skiers, makes it clear from the beginning that any happiness in this psychodrama is going to be exceptionally hard-won.

Featuring vomiting on ice, hallucinations, bullying male coaches and female rivalry, Guts combines the ferocity of competitive sport with cosy homes and pretty snow scenes.

Hot on the heels of Heated Rivalry, the Canadian ice hockey romance, it is part of a new wave of shows featuring winter sports. The Finnish broadcaster Yle also has a figure skating drama in its autumn schedules.

Guts has been a huge success in Finland – where it is billed as Black Swan in snow, after Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 psychological horror film about rival ballerinas – and its star Roosa Söderholm last week won best performance at the Canneseries festival in Cannes.

Söderholm, 31, said could not believe the reception the show received in Cannes and was shocked to receive an award for her portrayal of a skier desperate to become a world champion.

“It is quite rare for Finnish people to be awarded internationally, so I am quite speechless about it still,” she said. Part of the show’s international appeal is its insight into Finland and its culture, which she said many viewers find “exotic”. She was also drawn to the fact that it is a story centred around women’s sport, which is still rare.

Suvi Mansnerus, executive producer and commissioner for Yle Drama, said she immediately felt the idea, created and written by Jemina Jokisalo, could appeal to domestic and international audiences.

Mansnerus is keen to emphasise that while Finland is a “ski-crazy nation”, this is not a sports series. Cross-country skiing, she said, “provides the framework for good drama and storytelling”. Like Heated Rivalry, Guts is a story about people searching for connection and meaning, she added.

“It reveals the uniqueness of athletes and their ultimate competitive spirit, something we can relate to, but never fully understand or experience ourselves,” she said. “Cross-country skiing, with its extreme physical and mental demands, provides the perfect backdrop for exploring these intense human stories.”

Söderholm herself spent two years training up for the show with her fellow cast members and expert coaches. While, like most Finnish children, she learned to ski when she was young, she did not have any technical skills so had to pretty much learn from scratch.

Now cross-country skiing has become such a central part of her life that she even trains with roller skis in summer. “I love it. It’s stuck with me. Or I’m stuck with skiing,” she said. “Cross-country skiing has the same feeling as if you like to go jogging, like to run,” she said. “And you can also do it together with friends.”