The family adventure film was produced by Sonja Hermele, Anna Knochenderl and Stefan Baron for Nice Drama (Midnight Sun).

Nordisk Film Handles domestic distribution and TrustNordisk world sales.

Set in a not too distant future, the story centres on 12-year-old Gladys and her little brother Keaton, the only two passengers of a giant spacecraft. The kids have fled from a broken Earth and are heading towards planet Vial. They spend their days exploring the ship and the only one they can talk to is the Japanese A.I. Otosan. One day a friendly alien crashes into their spaceship, on his quest to find Earth. Together the alien and the children fight for survival. 

This is your first feature film. Can you tell us about your background and when you first had the idea for the film?
Ted Kjelsson: I grew up with 80s movies, sci-fi movies. That’s where I come from and what I love. I went to several art and film schools in Sweden, including the top Production Design school in Skellefteå. My breakthrough movie was Tompta Gudh, inspired by Swedish folklore; I did commercials for more than a decade, then in 2012 I got an opportunity to do the SVT sci-fi series for kids Skrotarna (Junkyard Kids), about some superhero orphan kids fighting crime with junk.

After that, I started looking for ideas to do a Swedish sci-fi flick, and when I saw Henrik Ståhl’s theatre play Vial, I knew I’d found what I was looking for. I was fortunate to get Nice Drama’s Stefan Baron aboard, as he’s also passionate about sci-fi, (having worked on Real Humans), but also Sonja Hermele and Anna Knochenhauer who has a lot of experience in post-production work.

How did you and actor/writer Henrik Stål adapt the play to make it attractive for young filmgoers and their parents?
TK: The play was much heavier, metaphysical, and the friendly alien was a manifestation of thoughts. It was important for me to turn the abstract concepts into real characters, and bring ‘flesh’ to the aliens. I asked Henrik if I was allowed to ‘Spielberg-ify’ his play into a movie. He said yes and I brought him along on the journey. Spielberg is a huge inspiration for me; I love the way he tells kids stories from their point of view.

The film is a mix between E.T. and Astrid Lindgren’s universe, and certainly more challenging than many children’s films, as it asks existential questions about life, death, longing, belonging. Could you explain your vision and unique tone for the film?
TK: Henrik and I worked hard on the script for a couple of years. My inspirations were of course Astrid Lindgren, E.T., but also Bridge to Terabithia that I found very rich emotionally.

Then I drew from my own life, as a father of 5, in the age span of 22, 20, 12, 10 and 2. I have experienced teenage angst and rage, I have lost a brother, I know about love-hate relations between siblings because I had 3 myself. I believe kids want to be challenged. We tend to protect them from reality, but it’s not dangerous for them to have heavy thoughts. Here, we have heavy thoughts, but wrapped in an adventure story.

There’s also lots of humour, especially with the way aliens behave…
TK: As we’re aiming at 7+ audience, it was crucial to have fun characters. The main alien friend for instance was inspired by ‘Doc Brown’ in Back to the Future and for the other aliens we invented a language similar to the one used by the Ewoks or Jadda the Hut in Star Wars.  

How did you work around making a sci-fi family film for SEK 20m (around €2m)? Could you detail the creation of the aliens and spaceship?
TK: Firstly, I’m not afraid to make decisions, and stick to them. That was important as we couldn’t afford reshoots. I know how to cheat with both SFX and VFX, combining practical and digital. I got that from my childhood, making horror movies and from my experience with commercials.

Long-time collaborators Christian Olander [production designer who worked on Tom of Finland, the series Alex] and Niklas Hermansson [props master and animatronics] who also went to Skellefteå’s Production Design School, helped a lot and did an amazing job. For the main alien (Henrik Ståhl wearing a 6kg suit), I didn’t want to have a middle-aged man in green tights! The character is all animatronics, and one of the most advanced ever made in Sweden, as he could speak and interact with the live character.

Then we built over 300 m2 of spaceship at Filmpool Nord’s new Studio Nord in Boden, in which we could shoot a lot of the movie in chronological order, with minimum to none green screen.

How was your experience of directing the young kids Ella Rae Rappaport and Dante Fleischanderl?
TK: It was a very nice experience. Dante was a force of nature, and Ella was a very mature young lady who shared my passion for method acting. Become the character. Don't act it. I love that.

What would you like kids to feel when coming out of the cinema?
TK: I want them to feel empowered, and for them to feel they can be taken seriously. It's a story for them, without being childish, a mature story with a lot of adventure.

What’s next? TK: I’m writing a Christmas Calendar show, and Henrik and I have written a sequel to Alone in Space, a kind of Mad Max for kids.