Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights and Itty Bitty Princess to Giffoni Film Festival
Already in its 54th edition, the Italian children’s film festival takes place July 19–28, 2024.
Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights, directed by Kari Juusonen and co-directed by Jørgen Lerdam, will have its world premiere in the Elements +6 competition at the Giffoni Film Festival. The film is written by Juusonen, Hannu Tuomainen and Marteinn Thorisson.
In the third film of the Niko series, two young flying reindeers Niko and Stella compete to become a member of Santa’s Flying Forces. They soon realise the race is not their only test. They must join forces to meet their biggest challenge – to find Santa’s stolen sleigh on the night before Christmas!
The first Niko film, Niko & the Way to the Stars (2008), reached over 2.7 million admissions internationally, while its sequel Little Brother, Big Trouble: A Christmas Adventure (2012) gained over 3.4 million admissions, making it the biggest box office hit to come from Finland (main production country).
Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights is produced by Antti Haikala for Anima Vitae and Hannu Tuomainen for Cinemaker. Co-producers are Ulysses Films (Germany), Moetion Films (Ireland) and A. Film Production (Denmark). International sales are handled by Global Screen. The domestic premiere is on October 11, 2024.
Itty Bitty Princess. Image: Kristiina Salmén / Helsinki-filmi.
Itty Bitty Princess, directed by Lauri Maijala, has been selected to the Elements +3 competition. The film is written by Hannele Lampela and Tuuli Kanervankallio, and it is produced by Tia Ståhlberg for Helsinki-filmi. The domestic premiere was in late March.
The film follows Itty Bitty Princess who is living her dream of being the only child in a family. She is in for a shock as her parents tell her she will be a big sister soon. Together with her magic dog and princess neighbor, they go on an adventure to find their own fancy princess castle to move in.