A lone wolf stands on a snow-covered landscape, looking to the side. The wild backdrop of blurred trees creates a serene, natural wintery scene reminiscent of Santa's tranquil home.
A reindeer stands in a snowy landscape, its thick fur dusted with snowflakes. The animal's wild antlers are prominent against the white background, evoking the magical essence of Santa’s Home and highlighting its alert expression.
A serene night scene of the northern lights casting a green glow in the sky, framed by tall, snow-dusted trees in Santa's home forest. The aurora stretches across the dark, starry sky, creating a mystical and wild atmosphere.

Santa’s wild Home

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 50 min·Completed

Lapland, Santa's mythical home, is Europe’s real, magical wilderness. This film captures its stunning seasons, wildlife, and Sami traditions.

Factsheet

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information
Unblock content Accept required service and unblock content
Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
Back to all projects

Synopsis

Green lights dance across a star-filled sky. Snowflakes sparkle on the trees. It is little wonder Lapland is famous as a realm of elves and flying reindeer, the magical home of Santa Claus. Lapland, however, is a real place, where real animals and people live out their lives. It is Europe’s most stunning and challenging wilderness, every bit as magical as the fantasy. This film is an intimate portrait of Lapland through the changing seasons. It follows the magic and drama of life in the frozen north, long after the Christmas lights are taken down, and where only the toughest survive.

Traditionally, Lapland is the region inhabited by the ethnic Sami and their reindeer. It makes up the northernmost part of mainland Europe and is composed of two main habitats – tundra and forest. The forest is the northwest extremity of the great Taiga, the largest area of any single habitat on Earth. Tundra covers the high mountains and stretches deep into the Arctic Circle, a vast, frozen wilderness.

Winter is Lapland at its most recognizable. Snow blankets the land and northern lights flicker in the darkness. At this time, Lapland’s most famous residents, the reindeer, are separated into small herds by Sami herders. The great grey owl floats silently by, able to hear prey buried half a metre beneath the snow. Others survive by scavenging. A frozen carcass draws in wolverines, ravens and golden eagles.

As spring and summer arrive, Lapland is transformed. The midnight sun sparks a frenzy of activity that will last just a few short weeks. Black grouse battle for females. Flying squirrels race to raise young in old woodpecker holes, while the great grey owl breeds in an old raven’s nest. Brown bears emerge from hibernation. It is a busy time for the Sami and their reindeer, as the herd migrates across the tundra and even crosses the ocean in search of grazing and calving lands.

After just a few weeks, summer wanes and Lapland glows red with the colours of autumn. The musk oxen begin their dramatic rut. They clash horns with such force that it echoes across the tundra and can be heard up to a mile away. The reindeer must rut too, as well as head south before the land is locked in snow, ice and darkness once again.

Santa’s home is famous the world over, yet few realise it is a real place. This visually stunning film will reveal a realm every bit as magical and dramatic as the fantasy. Lapland is Europe’s last great wilderness, a mystical, frozen kingdom in the far north.

Team

Written and directed by Matt Hamilton
Executive producers Martin Mészáros, Sabine Holzer
Production Company A production of Terra Mater Factual Studios

Awards & Recognitions

Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Winner (Category: Nordic Nature Film Award) 2020
Guangzhou, China OUTDOCS - The International Outdoor Documentary Film Festival of China Shortlist (Category: Award Competition) 2021
Lihula, Estonia MAFF - Matsalu Nature Film Festival Finalist 2021
Namur, Belgium FINN - Festival International Nature Namur Official Selection 2021
Sondrio, Italy Sondrio Festival Nomination 2021
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival Gödöllö Official Selection 2021
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist (Category: Best Ecosystem Film - Long Form) 2020
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde Nomination (Category: Best Camera) 2020
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde Nomination (Category: Best Music) 2020
Distributor

Talk to our Distributor

Interested in licensing and watching the full production? Contact our distributor here.

Get in touch
Footage rights

Licensing & Usage

Interested in licensing or footage usage?
Contact us directly.

Get in touch

In the same Genre