A Boy Called Christmas released around the globe in November 2021

A British Christmas film that was partly shot in Lapland, Finland is scheduled to be released in November 2021. Other locations for filming were London, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

STUDIOCANAL will release the film in theatres across the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, while Netflix will release the film everywhere else.

A Boy Called Christmas is directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Ol Parker and Kenan. It is based on the 2015 book of the same name by Matt Haig. The movie received funding from Finland’s audio-visual production incentive. Incentive is operated by Business Finland and it is available for feature and documentary films, scripted TV drama and animation productions.

Lapland – Where Father Christmas is at Home

Snow, sleighs and reindeer – Lapland, located in the far north of Finland, transforms into a magical landscape in winter and hosts the home of Father Christmas in the town of Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle.

Film fans can also admire the charm of the Finnish winter landscape in the cinema during Advent: The film "A Boy Called Christmas", shot in Lapland, sets the mood for the festive season and shows the magic of snow-covered Finland.

A Boy Called Christmas

A little boy trudges through the winter forest, the sun lowers over snowy mountains, reindeer fly into the polar sky: some of these fairytale-like scenes in the film "A Boy Called Christmas" were shot in Lapland. In Torassiepintie, Muonio and Kilpisjärvi, in Sodankylä and Jerisjärvi, to be exact. The places sound exotic and they all have one thing in common: from late autumn onwards, a thick blanket of snow covers the land.

Matt Haig, author of A Boy Called Christmas, explains why he has the story set in Finland: "Finland was the obvious choice for me. At least in my mind, it's the traditional home of Father Christmas. Lapland fires the imagination, and the Finnish names of the people and places bring extra magic to any story."

For the filming of A Boy Called Christmas, director Gil Kenan captured the magic of the Arctic Circle. It tells the story of Santa's childhood, growing up as a boy named Nikolas in Finland, and how he becomes Father Christmas. . The film opens in German cinemas on the 18th of November, just in time to get in the mood for Christmas.

Over the course of filming, Gil Kenan became a Finland fan: "I knew from photos and research that Finland was unusually beautiful, but I felt I had to see the country with my own eyes to authentically portray the area in the film, and to do justice to the rich culture," says Kenan.

Photo: A Boy Called Christmas, Press Photos, STUDIOCANAL 

"My first trip to Lapland was in December, and the wonder of the landscape (and the cold!) hit me like a shock. I will never forget the first sunrise when I stepped out of my room. A deep rich band of colours stretched across the sky in soft pinks and purples. I had never seen such colours," he describes his first day in Lapland.

"We started exploring the area by helicopter, and each new vista inspired me to push the film's imagery to new heights. By the end of that trip, I was sure we had to shoot part of the film on location in Lapland so that the audience would feel the same awe and wonder that I felt that day, and that our young hero Nikolas experiences on his adventures."

The director still keeps in touch with the Finnish film crew, and among his favourite memories is a stay at a reindeer farm - getting so close to the animals, he says, was an unforgettable experience.

Finland is a Reliable Partner for Productions

To capture the exoticism of the snowy landscape, Kenan also filmed in places that were difficult to access: "In Kilpisjärvi, we could only reach the icy tundra by snowmobile. For some shots we tied our Arri 70mm cameras to the vehicles with bungee cords and filmed while driving. It was a really wild experience and it makes the film better", he explains.

Finland is known to be a country where things just work out. Like in the case of A Boy Called Christmas, winter filming is not a problem – not even in the most remote places because logistics and infra work despite weather or time of the year. The crews are skilled, hardworking and reliable.

Finnish audio-visual production incentive is a 25 % cash rebate for production costs in Finland and we are proud to say that the decision-making is fast, efficient and most importantly, reliable.

A boy called christmas | Release dates

Germany (STUDIOCANAL)
In Cinemas November 18

USA / Everywhere Else (NETFLIX)
On Netflix November 24

Australia (STUDIOCANAL)
In Cinemas November 25

New Zealand (STUDIOCANAL)
In Cinemas November 25

UK & Ireland (SKY)
In Cinemas & Sky Cinema November 26

France (CANAL+)
Canal+ December

Official Trailer of A Boy Called Christmas on YouTube