Niceland, directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and produced by Zik Zak Filmworks, is currently being filmed in Iceland and Germany. The British actors Gary Lewis and Martin Compston play the lead roles. While Lewis is best known for his performance in Billy Elliot, as Billy Elliot’s father, other roles also include a recent appearance in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. Compton made his debut performance in Sweet Sixteen and was nominated for Best Actor at Cannes in 2002. Other well-known actors appearing in Niceland include Kerry Fox, Peter Capaldi and Kelly McDonald. Many Icelandic actors are also to feature in the film. Taking place in an imaginary country called Niceland, the film portrays a naive young man embarking on a trip to seek the meaning of life, convinced that he will find the answer through the companionship of a strange loner. Niceland is expected to premier at the end of this year. The movie will benefit from the 12% refund offered by the Icelandic government on all production costs incurred in Iceland.

Terry Jones and Björk have joined the cast in the animated film Anna and the Moods, currently being developed at CAOZ Ltd. in Reykjavík. The music will be composed by Julian Nott and performed by the Brodsky Quartet. Björk will provide the main character’s voice and Terry Jones, from the Monty Python team, will narrate. The film is scheduled for release at the end of 2004. Digital animation has gained a foothold in Icelandic film production, as Icelandic production houses and studios have through the years gained internationally recognised expertise in the field of digital animation and graphics. Motion pictures and television programmes using digital animation are eligible for a 12% refund on all production costs incurred in Iceland. The production company CAOZ, whose background is in digital animation for films and commercials, received a first-place award in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the computer animation and digital video category, as well as two Icelandic EDDA awards last year for the short film The Lost Little Caterpillar. The film has also been nominated for several other awards, for example as Best Children’s Film, in Frederikstad, Norway.  The CAOZ Managing Director, Hilmar Sigurdsson, has stated that working on digital animation in Iceland is cost-effective in comparison to Europe and North America, due to Iceland's pool of highly talented people using state-of-the-art equipment, besides the attractive 12% refund arrangement. 

Nickelodeon Television Company and Lazytown have agreed on producing the children's series Lazytown in Iceland. The contract involves producing forty 30-minute episodes for the series, which will be released through Nickelodeon next year. Nickelodeon is the most popular children's television network in the United States, viewed in 86 million homes.  The series as a whole involves approximately one hundred people, with a US$ 15 million budget and will be produced in Icelandic studios. This demonstrates the wealth of talent available in Iceland, as well as competitive production costs, making it possible to almost double US$ screen value to actual cost. The main scriptwriter of Rutgrat, Nickelodeon's most popular programme, will cooperate in the production, along with former staff of the Jim Henson Company and the producers will fly in talents from US and Canada as needed. Both Icelandic and American actors will star in Lazytown and the music will be by Icelandic artists. Production will start in November and is expected to be finished by next June. Through production in Iceland, the TV programme can benefit from the 12% refund package and therefore receive a refund of that amount on all production costs incurred in Iceland or even in EU countries. Lazytown is based on a children’s fiction book by the Icelander Magnus Scheving, President and co-founder of Lazytown Entertainment. Lazytown’s philosophy is to inspire children to live a healthier lifestyle without actually lecturing to them. According to Brown Johnson, Vice President of Nickelodeon’s preschool division, the timing is right for marketing the Lazytown concept, since many articles have been published in the U.S. lately regarding children’s obesity and their lack of physical activity. She says that a TV series allowing children to discover the benefits of fitness and healthy lifestyles will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the subject. See: www.lazytown.com