Lovers Of The Arctic Circle

The moment they meet, 8-year-olds and Otto know they have a special connection. After all, their names are both palindromes - spelled the same whether they're read forward or backward - and each has a parent looking for a mate. But when their families finally meld, the two children, now young adults realize that they, too, may share a romantic destiny

Julio Medem directed this romantic Spanish drama, Lovers Of The Arctic Circle, with location scenes in Finland. School children Ana (Sara Valiente) and Otto (Peru Medem) are brought together when a paper airplane flown from a window by Otto unites Ana's mother Olga with Otto's father Alvaro.

After this encounter, Olga and Alvaro fall in love - with the result that Alvaro leaves Otto's German mother Ula. To be near Ana, Otto begins living with Alvaro and Olga. Ana believes that Otto harbors the soul of her dead father. As adolescents, Otto (Fele Martinez) and Ana (Najwa Nimri) share a kiss over a book opened to a passage about the Arctic Circle, and they often sleep together. Otto is grief-stricken by the death of his mother, partially due to his leaving her for Ana. Shown at 1998 film festivals (Venice, Toronto).