Educated at Prague's distinguished film school, FAMU, Icelandic director Thorsteinn Jónsson made his feature debut, Dot Dot Comma Dash, in 1981. In 1994 he returned to the children and youth audiences from that film to shoot The Sky Palace, from Gudmundur Olafsson's book, about an eight-year old boy, Emil, who wants to buy his grandfather a puppy after his trusty dog has died.

Left on his own by hard-working parents, Emil takes on all sorts of jobs to save money for the project, but his father flatly rejects the idea. Yet Emil purchases a puppy and runs away from home, trodding his bike for four days to get to his grandfather.

Jónsson auditioned 200 boys, but eventually returned to Kári Gunnarsson - the only one who had himself applied for the role. And Iceland is not that big: When he went to a store for a second-hand bicycle, he ended up with the bike Kári had sold the day before.

Jorn Rossing Jensen

Prod co: Kvikmynd, with Trans-Film/Videal (Germany), Per Holst Film (Denmark), with support from the Icelandic Film Fund, the Danish Film Institute, Berliner Filmförderung, the Nordic Film & TV Fund

Prod: Jóna Finnsdóttir

Prod/Dir: Thorsteinn Jónsson

Scr: Thorsteinn Jónsson, based on a novel by Gudmundur Olafsson

Ph: Sigurdur Sverrir Pálsson

Ed: Valdis Oskarsdóttir

Set des: Erla Solveig Oskarsdóttir

Music: Christoph Oertel

Cast: Kári Gunnarsson, Hjalti Rögnvaldsson, Gudrún Gísladóttir

Running time: 85 mins

International sales: Nordisk Film TV-Distribution (Stockholm)

Screening: 29 June, 15.00, Lucerna

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