My favourite Icelandic filmmakers
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Baltasar Kormákur is an actor, producer and director whose work spans theater, movies and television. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, he graduated as an actor from Iceland's National Academy of Fine Arts in 1990. He was immediately signed on by the National Theatre of Iceland, where he worked as one of the leading young performing artists until 1997. During the last two years of his assignment, he also directed several ambitious works, after having produced and directed highly popular, independent stage productions alongside his projects with the National Theatre. In 2000, he wrote, directed, acted in and produced the feature film "101 Reykjavik," which became an international hit and earned the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Subsequently, Variety selected him as one of the "10 Directors to Watch," along with Alejandro González Iñárritu, Lukas Moodysson, Christopher Nolan and other newcomers at the time.
Soon after, Kormákur started Blueeyes Productions and since then has maintained his focus on feature film writing, producing, and directing. His films "The Sea," "A Little Trip To Heaven," "Jar City" and "White Night Wedding" have all been very successful in Iceland, and won numerous international awards. Kormákur's "The Deep," which eerily captures the tragic real-life story of the lone survivor of a capsized fishing boat off the frigid Icelandic coast, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to become Iceland's Oscar nominee and was shortlisted for the foreign language Academy Award. It opened in Iceland on September 21, 2012 and took in over 50% of the country's box office receipts that weekend and earned a record number of Edda Awards, 11 in all, including Best Film of the Year, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Kormákur has also directed features in the United States, including "Inhale," an independent film produced by the LA based 26 Films, starring Dermot Mulroney, Diane Kruger and Sam Shepard and "Contraband," starring Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, and Kate Beckinsale, which took first place at the US box office during its opening weekend, early January 2012. Universal Pictures released "Contraband," which was a remake of Oskar Johansson's "Reykjavik Rotterdam," that starred Kormákur and he produced with Agnes Johansen through his Blueeyes Productions, along with Working Title Films.
Kormákur's next film was the thriller "2 Guns," starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, which Universal Pictures will release in August 2013. Other projects include the HBO pilot "The Missionary," a spy thriller he will direct and Mark Wahlberg, Steve Levinson and Malcolm Gladwell will produce; "Everest," the cautionary tale and real life adventure on the mountain in 1996 when eight climbers died in the span of two days, due to a series of horrific mishaps and bad decisions. Working Title Films and Emmett/Furla Productions will produce "Everest" with Kormákur. Also, "Viking," a big budget action adventure set in the world of the famed Norse warriors, which will film in Iceland. Kormákur optioned Iceland's beloved, Nobel Prize-winning book Independent People to develop as a feature film and will produce the American remake of "Jar City" along with CEO of Lava Bear Films, David Linde. He is also producing the Icelandic drama "Rocketman," which acclaimed Icelandic filmmaker Dagur Kari is directing.- Producer
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Award winning Baldvin Z has been one of the most prominent directors in Iceland for the past 6 years. Delivering two feature films (writer and director) and two television series (director) with over 40 film awards, both international as well as 18 Edda awards (the Icelandic Film and Television Academy Awards). Last year, he finished directing Island Songs for Universal Studios and Beyond Strength, an independent documentary. He recently released his third feature "Let Me Fall" at Toronto Film Festival, which has been met with universal praise. Glassriver's TV series "The Trip" will be his next project.- Director
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- Composer
Dagur Kári was born on 12 December 1973 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Voksne mennesker (2005), Nói albinói (2003) and The Good Heart (2009).- Director
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- Editor
Grímur Hákonarson was born in 1977 in Iceland. He is a director and writer, known for Rams (2015), Bræðrabylta (2007) and A Pure Heart (2012).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Ragnar Bragason is one of Iceland's most popular and critically acclaimed writer-directors. He is best known for his film Metalhead and the popular TV series The Night Shift. Ragnar, born 15th of September 1971, grew up in the village of Sudavik and started making short films in high school. After directing a large number of music videos for both local and international artists, he made his first feature film in 2000. In his work Ragnar uses methods similar to those of Mike Leigh and John Cassavetes of working with his cast to create characters through improvisation. His extensive body of work has been nominated numerous times for The Icelandic Film & TV Awards, receiving 51 awards. Four times Ragnar been awarded for Best Screenplay and three times for Best Director. Fiasco was awarded Special Jury Prize at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2000. Children won the Golden Swan for Best film at Copenhagen International Film Festival in 2007 and the award for Best Direction at the Transilvania International Film Festival in 2007. Ragnar served as the president of The Association of Icelandic Film Directors between 2010 and 2014.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson was born in 1978 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is a writer and director, known for Under the Tree (2017), Either Way (2011) and Skröltormar (2007).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Óskar Jónasson was born on 30 June 1963 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is a director and writer, known for Reykjavik-Rotterdam (2008), Contraband (2012) and Foster Brothers (1997).- Director
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- Writer
Einar Thor, born in northwest part of Iceland, graduated from The London Film School with a distinction in directing in 1992, studied media and Spanish at the University of Iceland and at the University of Malaga, Spain, and later continued his academic studies at City University in London were he completed his masters in cultural studies 2001. He's a qualified teacher from University if Iceland and has 6 years under his belt as an educator.
Prior to films he was a sailor and an Icelandic cowboy, took part in number of EU's and EC's conferences on cultural and social issues in Europe, was a member of the Executive Committee of the Icelandic Youth Council in 1989, and actively involved in international exchange program's in Europe and C-America in 1988. After film school he appeared as an actor in number of short films in London and took on the lead role in a United Nation's (UNHCR) music video, 'Hate & Destruction' in 1994. He has also produced and written over ten radio program's for the Icelandic National Radio, and from 1986 to this day, written dozens of articles for Icelandic newspapers and magazines on culture, politics and media.- Director
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Rúnar Rúnarsson was born on 20 January 1977 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He is a director and producer, known for Volcano (2011), Sparrows (2015) and Echo (2019).- Actor
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- Director
Benedikt Erlingsson was born on 31 May 1969 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is an actor and writer, known for Woman at War (2018), Of Horses and Men (2013) and The Show of Shows (2015).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Óskar Thór Axelsson is known for Black's Game (2012), Stella Blómkvist (2017) and I Remember You (2017).- Director
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- Editor
Hrafn Gunnlaugsson was born on 17 June 1948 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is a director and writer, known for The Sacred Mound (1993), When the Raven Flies (1984) and Witchcraft (1999).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Hilmar Oddsson was born in 1957 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is a writer and director, known for Cold Light (2004), Driving Mum (2022) and No Trace (1998).- Producer
- Director
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Olaf de Fleur studied physics in Reykjavik, graduating in 1995. Since then he has participated in numerous film projects, including both feature and documentary films. After working for two years for a production company, focusing primarily on TV documentaries, he founded the independent production company Poppoli Pictures. Headed by Johannesson as director and producer, the team created Blindsker that won the "Best Documentary" in the Icelandic Film Awards 2004 and Africa United that won the same prize in 2005.
He was nominated as the best Icelandic Filmmaker in 2005 and 2006 at cultural DV (newspaper) awards and best director in 2005 at the Icelandic Film Awards. Selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2003 and 2004.
Olaf and his team have finished filming Act Normal, a documentary following an English Buddhist monk who decides to disrobe and get married, shot in Iceland and Thailand between 1995-2006. Johannesson is currently working on The Amazing Truth about Queen Raqauela, a feature produced by his own company, Poppoli Pictures, with Nimbus Films (dk) Blueeyes Productions (is). The film tells the story of a naïve, but street smart Filipino ladyboy - a career prostitute who decides to travel to Paris to find love and acceptance, but ends up working at a fish factory in Iceland. After that Olaf is preparing for the Icelandic feature "The Higher Force" in January 2007 along with developing the feature "Diary of a Circledrawer" with Screenwriter Stefan Schaefer for filming in early 2008.- Director
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- Actor
Gunnar B. Gudmundsson was born on 22 January 1972 in Iceland. He is a director and writer, known for Karamellumyndin (2003), Hullabaloo (2010) and Amma Hófí (2020).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson graduated from the Icelandic Arts Academy in Fine art. After graduation, he studied screenwriting in Denmark. His short films and feature debut have been selected for more than 200 festivals and won over 70 international awards, including accolades from the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, European Film Awards, and a nomination for the Nordic Council Film Prize. He developed and wrote his feature film Heartstone during a Cannes Cinéfondation Residency.- Director
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- Producer
Marteinn Thorsson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland and is a dual citizen of Iceland and Canada. He graduated from Ryerson University, in Toronto, Canada, with a B.F.A. degree in Film Studies in 1993 and a 65-minute film noir, Diary of an Assassin.
In 2004 Marteinn co-wrote and co-directed with Jeff Renfroe the feature One Point O (a.k.a. 1.O, a.k.a. Paranoia: 1.O) starring Jeremy Sisto, Deborah Kara Unger, Udo Kier and Lance Henriksen.
One Point O was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and has subsequently sold to more than 43 countries worldwide and won awards in places around the globe.
Variety Magazine put Marteinn on its 10 Directors To Watch List in 2004.
His second feature Rokland (Stormland) was produced by Snorri Thorisson at Pegasus Pictures (Reykjavik) and based on the novel by Hallgrimur Helgason. It has traveled to festivals around the world and its leads won best actor (Olafur Darri Olafsson) and best supporting actress (Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir) at the Icelandic Edda Awards 2011.
His third feature is the very controversial XL, which reunited him with Olafur Darri Olafsson and Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir, amongst others. XL won Best Actor at The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and was nominated for 11 Edda Awards.
His next films are the supernatural thriller, Recurrence (Una), produced by Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdottir (Duo Productions) and coming-of-age drama, Wild Summer, produced by Thorsson and Gudmundur Oskarsson with Christian Riffard (France) and Paola Sponda (Italy).
Marteinn has also created (wrote, directed and edited) award winning Promos for Astral Media (The Movie Network), in Toronto, Canada. He has also directed and edited Television programs for Icelandic Television, as well as Music Videos and Commercials. Marteinn has also taught Screenwriting, Directing and Producing at The Icelandic Film School and he was the Creative Director of Reykjavik International Film Festival's (RIFF) Transatlantic Talent Lab in 2011 and 2012 where he created, organized and moderated the prestigious lab for a team of International students who participated in Workshops and Master Classes held by industry professionals such as: Tribeca's Geoffrey Gilmore, BAFTA winning editor Valdis Oskarsdottir, directors David Cronenberg, Béla Tarr, James Marsh, Peter Wintonik and Dario Argento, Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen and others.- Director
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Bragi Thor Hinriksson is an accomplished award winning Icelandic Film Director & Producer. He has directed seven feature length films, four of which have enjoyed enormous box office success in Iceland with domestic box office numbers rivaling the likes of Harry Potter, Toy Story 3 and Avatar. Throughout his career Hinriksson has developed a keen understanding of the steps needed for successful motion pictures. His first professional work as a puppeteer on the longest running program for children when he was 14 years old put him on the path of becoming one of the most successful directors for projects aimed at family and children. In his films Hinriksson has time and again demonstrated his skills in visual storytelling and working closely with actors. His films have been distributed worldwide, digitally, theatrically and on television through sales companies like LevelK and Studio Hamburg in Germany. Today Hinriksson has several projects in development. Production is scheduled for 2023 on the psychological Thriller "Disturbed" based on a successful novel and his fantasy feature film "Vera & the Third Stone", rooted from the ancient world of Icelandic Folklore is aimed for production in the summer of 2025. Through his career Hinriksson has been awarded the Icelandic Academy Awards (Edda), six times with twelve total nominations. He is a member of the Icelandic Society of film directors (SKL).