The small peninsula of Ekkerøy outside Vadsø on the far outskirts of Norway, where parts of this was filmed, had never before been the host of a large film production. This small community with only about 40 inhabitants is however, where actress Renée Zellweger's mother grew up.
Director Egil Pedersen combined his Christmas vacation at his parents' with test-filming to cast the important part of the two boys. Despite it originally being "only" a student film the response from interested children was so overwhelming he didn't have a chance to get through everybody who contacted him.
Filmed on the outskirts of Northern Norway some days of shooting saw temperatures as low as -10 Fahrenheit. Combined with raw wind it was at times a grueling shoot and many of the actors had a hard time doing their outdoor scenes.