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BERLINALE 2019 Generation Kplus

After an impressive domestic opening, Lotte and the Lost Dragons heads to Berlin

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- The third part of the Estonian-Latvian animation franchise has had the third-best opening in Estonia and will be premiered internationally in the Berlinale’s Generation KPlus

After an impressive domestic opening, Lotte and the Lost Dragons heads to Berlin
Lotte and the Lost Dragons by Heiki Ernits and Janno Põldma (© Eesti Joonisfilm/Rija Films)

Now almost 20 years old, Lotte, the spirited female dog in the red dress who was created by Heiki Ernits and Janno Põldma, has broken another record in Estonia. Lotte and the Lost Dragons [+see also:
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film profile
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, the third instalment in the successful Lotte animation franchise, was released locally on the second day of the year and, attracting almost 30,000 viewers over the opening weekend, enjoyed the third-best opening for an Estonian movie ever. After almost a month in domestic cinemas, admissions for the Estonian-Latvian film have now doubled, with over 64,000 tickets sold and gross box-office takings of €310,000 so far.

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As happened with the two previous films, Lotte from Gadgetville [+see also:
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 (2006) and Lotte and the Moonstone Secret [+see also:
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 (2011), the third movie in the series will also be screened in the Generation KPlus section of the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival, where it will enjoy its international premiere and be aiming for similar success. It is hoped that it will be shown in over 50 countries, like its predecessors.

In Lotte and the Lost Dragons, Lotte gets a little sister named Roosi. Karl the raccoon and Viktor the fish are scientists who come to Gadgetville. They are taking part in a big folk-song collecting competition. Whoever succeeds in recording the folk song of the world’s oldest animal species, the mythical fire-breathing dragon, will win the competition’s grand prize. Lotte and Roosi decide to help the scientists, and thus some exciting and unexpected adventures await the sisters.

The creators, co-writers and co-directors, Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits, stated: “When Lotte was born in the year 2000, we never would have guessed that our cartoon character, a cheerful and good-natured puppy girl, could win the hearts of so many viewers. We strongly believe it is the non-violence, goodwill and sense of humour that resonates with audiences worldwide.”

The impact of the Lotte phenomenon is not limited to Estonia and Latvia, as books have been released about her, and musicals have been staged in theatres. Also, the range of related merchandise spans many different products, from toys to food products, while in the Baltics, her status is even greater, with the Lotte Village theme park attracting families to actually experience the adventures from the films.

Lotte and the Lost Dragons was co-produced by Kalev Tamm for Estonia’s Eesti Joonisfilm with Vilnis Kalnaellis for Latvia’s Rija Films. It was one of the six films selected by the Estonia 100 organising committee (see the news), and was supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, the National Film Centre of Latvia, the Creative Europe MEDIA programme and Helio.

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