London/Paris/LA – Monday 15th April, STUDIOCANAL, Netflix and Blueprint Pictures today announce that principal photography has now commenced on A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS, shooting on location in Lapland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and London.

Directed by Academy Award® nominee Gil Kenan (Monster House), A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS boasts an all-star cast including Jim Broadbent (Paddington 1 & 2, The Iron Lady), Zoe Colletti (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), Toby Jones (Infamous, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Paddington 1 & 2), Michiel Huisman (The Haunting of Hill House, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society), Henry Lawfull (Les Miserables), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey, Harry Potter), Rune Temte (Captain Marvel, The Last Kingdom), Indica Watson (The Missing, Sherlock) and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Wonder Woman 1984).

Ol Parker (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Gil Kenan have adapted the screenplay from the bestselling book by Matt Haig, the first of 5 books in the acclaimed series, all of which are published by Canongate Books (Life of Pi, Under the Skin, How to Stop Time).

STUDIOCANAL will release the film theatrically in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France and China, and Netflix will release the film in the rest of the world. STUDIOCANAL will produce with Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin of BAFTA and Academy Award® winning Blueprint Pictures.

The origin story of Father Christmas is re-imagined in Gil Kenan’s live action A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS. An ordinary young boy called Nikolas sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking with him a headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and a loyal pet mouse, Nikolas soon meets his destiny in this magical, comic and endearing story that proves nothing is impossible…

Academy Award® winning team at Framestore (Christopher Robin, Fantastic Beasts, Paddington 1 & 2, The Golden Compass) will provide the visual effects for the film. The Production Designer is Gary Williamson (Paddington 1 & 2).

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About STUDIOCANAL

STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series, operating directly in all three major European markets - France, the United Kingdom and Germany - as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important film libraries in the world, boasting more than 5,500 titles from 60 countries. Spanning 100 years of film history, this vast and unique catalogue includes among others the iconic Terminator 2, Rambo, Breathless, Mulholland Drive, The Pianist and Belle de jour.

STUDIOCANAL has fully-financed box office hits Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Paddington 1 and 2, Non-Stop and Shaun The Sheep. Upcoming films backed by STUDIOCANAL include Marjane Satrapi’s Radioactive featuring Rosamund Pike, The Secret Garden produced by David Heyman starring Colin Firth, Aardman Studios’ stop-motion film Shaun the Sheep 2.

STUDIOCANAL is actively developing and distributing high-end TV series through its network of award-winning European production companies, including TANDEM in Germany (Take Two) and the UK’s RED Production Company (Years and Years). STUDIOCANAL is also an associate of Danish-based SAM Productions founded by Søren Sveistrup and Adam Price (Ride Upon The Storm) as well as of UK-based GUILTY PARTY PICTURES; Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SUNNYMARCH TV (Patrick Melrose); URBAN MYTH FILMS (War of the Worlds) and Spain’s BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES (Instinto). In 2018, STUDIOCANAL launched a new label in France, STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with over 139 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.