02/11/2012 - Before its domestic premiere on November 9, Norwegian director Nils Gaup's Journey to the Christmas Star makes international sales

The first Norwegian film released (on November 9) by The Walt Disney Company Nordic, Norwegian director Nils Gaup's Journey to the Christmas Star (photo), was screened at the American Film Market in Los Angeles, where German international distributor Sola Media is adding to its sales list already comprising the UK (Metrodome Distribution), Germany (Polyband) and China (CSUN).

Gaup had strong expectations of the film's local performance: "We have all grown up with this story, which is a strong part of the Norwegian heritage - I have myself seen the play in the theatre numerous times since the 1980s. It has mythical qualities, which are difficult to decipher - it takes place on locations which do not exist. All adventurous things you cannot do, you can do here."

Scripted by Kamilla Krogsveen from Norwegian author Sverre Brandt's 1924 play, the Sigurd Mikal Karoliussen-Jan Eirik Langøen production for Moskus Film stars newcomer Vilde Marie Zeiner, Agnes Kittelsen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen and Evy Kasseth Røsten and was shot on a €4 million budget, mainly in the Czech Republic, adding more than 100 CGI sequences.

14-year-old Sonja is hiding in the castle when she hears the King tell the sad story of his daughter, Princess Goldhair, who has been missing when searching for the Christmas Star. The star disappeared when he cursed it, and only if he finds it within the next few days, Goldenhair will return - otherwise she will be lost forever. Sonja is determined she will help.

Nominated for an Academy Award for his 1987 film Pathfinder, Gaup returned to his Sámi roots in The Kautokeino Rebellion [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2008), about the 1852 uprising in his native town, which won four Amandas - Norway's national film prize - and several international awards. It sold 350,000 tickets in Norway.