UNDER THE TREE wins three awards
Under the Tree, the new feature from Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, recently won three international awards. Sigurdsson won the Best Director Prize in the Comedy Features section of Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The film received the jury‘s Special Mention at the Zurich Film Festival. Finally, it won for Best Narrative Feature at the Hamptons Film Festival.
This marks a strong start for Under the Tree on the festival circuit. The film world-premiered in Venice Orizzonti to great reviews and screened at TIFF's Contemporary World Cinema section. Next up are the Valladolid International Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival.
Under the Tree was recently selected as Iceland‘s entry for the 2018 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
The film has done well in cinemas in Iceland, sitting at the top of the box office with over 33.000 admissions after five weeks.
About the film
Under the Tree centers around a conflict between next-door neighbors over a tree in the backyard and the shadow it casts. The conflict begins as a typical suburban spat but soon begins to spiral unexpectedly and violently out of control.
The film is written by Huldar Breidfjörd (Paris of the North) and Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson. It stars Steindi Jr., Sigurdur Sigurjónsson (Rams), Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Thorsteinn Bachmann and Selma Björnsdóttir and was lensed by the Polish DOP Monika Lenczewska (Sundance-selected Difret and Imperial Dreams).
Produced by Grímar Jónsson, Sindri Páll Kjartansson and Thor Sigurjonsson for Iceland's Netop Films (Rams) in co-production with Poland's Madants (High Life), Denmark's Profile Pictures (In the Blood) and Germany's One Two Films (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki). It has been supported by the Icelandic Film Centre, Danish Film Institute, Polish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Eurimages and ZDF/Arte.
International sales for the film are being handled by New Europe Film Sales(jan@neweuropefilmsales.com).