Icelandic documentaries - November 2020

IDFAcademy

Anní Ólafsdóttir is Iceland's participant at this year's IDFAcademy – IDFA's workshop and training program for emerging documentary filmmakers and producers.

Anní's first feature-length documentary project is The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole, directed by Anní and Andri Snær Magnason. Her second documentary, Apausalypse, is now nearing completion and scheduled to premiere in December 2020.

New documentaries from Iceland

An adventurous, sad, dreamy, funny, and ultimately bittersweet story of two people struggling with the balancing act of bipolar disorder and confronting the shame that they and other bipolar people feel.

Directors/Screenwriters Andri Snær Magnason, Anní Ólafsdóttir
Producers Andri Snær Magnason, Halldóra Jóhanna Thorláksdóttir, Hlín Jóhannesdóttir
Production companies Elsku Rut, Ursus Parvus, Ground Control Productions

Iceland
2020, 80 min., DCP

Sales contact Hlín Jóhannesdóttir (hlin@ursusparvus.com)

A transgender woman decides to paddle counterclockwise around Iceland on a kayak. This perilous journey symbolizes her experiences during her gender-reassignment process. The film explores her inner struggles and the effects of her decisions on those closest to her, including her ex-wife, her children, and her parents.

Director Óskar Páll Sveinsson
Screenwriter Margrét Örnólfsdóttir
Producer Pétur Einarsson, Kristín Ólafsdóttir
Production company P/E Productions

Iceland
2020, 90 min., DCP

Sales contact Pétur Einarsson (petur.einarsson@gmail.com)

A circus director faced her fears and threw herself into the unknown when she brought contemporary circus to Sweden twenty years ago. Her company is now one of the world's most successful in the field of contemporary circus.

Directors Titti Johnson, Helgi Felixson
Screenwriter Titti Johnson
Producer Helgi Felixson
Coproducer Titti Johnson
Production company Iris Film
Coproduction company Felix Film

Iceland/Sweden
2020, 75 min., DCP

Sales contact Helgi Felixson (helgi@felixfilm.se)

More on Icelandic documentaries can be found here.

Upcoming Icelandic documentaries

Click on the photo to see showreel of upcoming Icelandic documentaries.

Darryl Francis was wrongfully accused and convicted as an accessory to murder in Los Angeles when he was a teenager. During the two decades he spent in prison, he discovered the power of creative writing and humor to cope with life behind bars. Director Olaf de Fleur plays with the line between fiction and reality, the same method that won him a Teddy Award at the 2008 Berlinale.

Director/Screenwriter Olaf de Fleur
Producers Olaf de Fleur, Kristín Andrea Thórdardóttir
Production company Poppoli Pictures

Iceland
2021, 70 min., DCP

Contact Olaf de Fleur (olaf@poppoli.com)

Click on the photo to see showreel of upcoming Icelandic documentaries.

The late Sólveig Anspach's career blurred boundaries between Iceland and France, between fiction and documentary, between her life and her art. In this intimate portrait, Sólveig's daughter, Clara, remembers her mother, her friends and family, and her work.

Directors/Screenwriters Clara Lemaire Anspach, Karna Sigurdardóttir
Producer Skúli Fr. Malmquist
Coproducer Arnar Benjamín Kristjánsson
Production company Zik Zak Filmworks

Iceland
2021, 60 min., HD

Contact Arnar Benjamín Kristjánsson (arnar@zikzak.is)

Click on the photo to see showreel of upcoming Icelandic documentaries.

A girls' basketball team aims to break down cultural barriers. Their training program is intense and controversial, and they are led by an overqualified and unusual coach who constantly raises the bar. The team achieves remarkable results and the girls are becoming strong, independent, and are ready to change the world. But is the world ready?

Director/Screenwriter Gudjón Ragnarsson
Producer Margrét Jónasdóttir
Production company Sagafilm

Iceland
2021, 90 min., DCP

International sales CAT & Docs (maelle@catndocs.com)
Contact Margrét Jónasdóttir (margretj@sagafilm.is)

Based on a theatrical therapeutic experiment, Edna Lupita uses her skills as an actress and a theater director to investigate her own life story, striving to connect her past to her present, her mental illness, and her suicidal thoughts. What will she discover?

Director Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir
Screenwriters Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir, Anna Thóra Steinthórsdóttir
Producers Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir, Anna Thóra Steinthórsdóttir
Production companies Rebella Filmworks, Klipp

Iceland
2021, 72 min., DCP

Contact Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir (astakja@internet.is)

Different generations of women give us rare insights into their world and what it takes to survive in the geothermal industry, a male-dominated field. The women share their struggles and successes, and the changes that have taken place in the workplace over the years.

Directors/Screenwriters Susan Muska, Gréta Ólafsdóttir
Producer Susan Muska, Gréta Ólafsdóttir
Coproducer Heather Millard
Production company Bless Bless Productions
Coproduction company Compass Films

Iceland
2021, 85 min., DCP

Contacts Bless Bless Productions (blessbless@me.com)

More on Icelandic documentaries currently in production can be found here.

Docs for Sale (IDFA)

Screening online at IDFA's Docs for Sale

Hatari, an anticapitalist, BDSM techno band, were chosen to represent Iceland at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. They turn heads and open minds with their in-your-face performance. But with 200 million people watching worldwide, Hatari found themselves unable to ignore the pressing politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict – so they resolved to make a difference. But will their message be able to pierce the shiny bubble of Eurovision?

Director Anna Hildur
Producer Anna Hildur
Executive producers Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
Production company Tattarrattat
Coproduction company RÚV

Iceland
2020, 90 min., DCP

International sales
LevelK (niklas@levelk.dk)

Scandinavian Films

Scandinavian Films is the umbrella organization for the five Nordic film institutes. Visit the Scandinavian Films' website to find an overview of Nordic documentaries participating in IDFA this year. All the latest updates will be shared on the website and on the Scandinavian Films' Facebook page.