14/04/2014 - Shooting on location on the Greek island of Kos, Taavi Vartia’s follow-up to blockbuster Rolli and the Golden Key will wrap in early June

Boasting a €1.2 million budget, Taavi Vartia’s new project is a family-orientated adventure in the vein of The Goonies, set to start shooting on location on the Greek island of Kos on 23 April. Following the success of Rolli and the Golden Key [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a blockbuster that garnered over 200,000 admissions in Vartia’s home country of Finland, Adventure in Greece [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will be co-produced by Finland and Greece.

Featuring local comedy legends Yiannis Zouganelis, Gerasimos Skiadaresis and Effie Papatheodorou alongside Finnish actress Laura Malmivaara and actor Ville Myllyrine, the film stars Nuutti Konttinen, Emil Auno and Veikka Vainikkaas three boys who become enchanted by a young, local diver, portrayed by Ifigenia Tzola. However, when the young girl is kidnapped by a group of smugglers, the three boys immediately set out to liberate their new friend and put a stop to her captors’ scheme to loot a local cave.

The script is co-written by Vartia along with Karoliina and Niklas Lindgren, and Finnish cinematographer Mika Orasmaa is to shoot the action, while set designer Andromahi Arvaniti and costume designer Triada Papadaki will be among the numerous Greek crew working on the production.

Jarkko Hentula is producing for Finland’s Yellow Group, and Lilet Botassi is co-producing for Greece’s Inkas Films. The project is being co-produced by local cable service OTE TV, co-financed by the Greek Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation, sponsored by local hotel group Mitsis Hotels and the local sunscreen company Carroten, while the Unified Tourism Board of Kos and Nisyros will be supporting the production.

Already set for a 12 December release in Finland by Nordisk Film Distribution, the film has pre-sold TV rights in the country to Channel 4, while local company Audio Visual Entertainment has committed to distributing the title in Greek theatres, as well as handling broadcasting sales.