GODLAND by Hlynur Pálmason selected for Cannes
Godland, by Icelandic writer/director Hlynur Pálmason, has been selected to participate in the Un Certain Regard program of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from May 17 - 28. Un Certain Regard, established in 1978 to highlight emerging talent and innovative and daring works of cinema, is part of the festival's Official Selection.
In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
The film was written and directed by Hlynur Pálmason, and stars Elliott Crosset Hove and Ingvar Sigurdsson. Other key cast members include Jacob Hauberg Lohmann, Hilmar Guðjónsson, Vic Carmen Sonne, Waage Sandø, and Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir. It was shot by Maria von Hausswolff and edited by Julius Krebs Damsbo. Production design was in the hands of Frosti Friðriksson, the sound was designed by Björn Viktorsson and Kristian Eidnes Andersen, and the score was composed by Alex Zhang Hungtai.
The film is a Denmark/Iceland/Sweden/France coproduction. It was produced by Katrin Pors, Mikkel Jersin, Eva Jakobsen at Denmark’s Snowglobe, and Anton Máni Svansson at Iceland’s Join Motion Pictures. Co-producers are Didar Domehri of Maneki Films (France), Anthony Muir and Peter Possne of Film I Väst (Sweden), Mimmi Spång of Garagefilm International (Sweden) and Iceland’s Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson of Join Motion Pictures.
Pálmason has written and directed two award-winning feature films. His first, the Danish/Icelandic Winter Brothers, premiered in the main competition at the Locarno Film Festival in 2017, where it won four awards. His second, A White, White Day had its premiere in the International Critics' Week at Cannes Film Festival in 2019, where Icelandic actor Ingvar Sigurdsson won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award. Each film collected over 20 awards and sold to multiple territories worldwide.
International sales for Godland are being handled by New Europe Film Sales (jan@neweuropefilmsales.com).
Additional credits for the film can be found here.
Godland is the sixth Icelandic film to participate in Un Certain Regard. In 2021, Valdimar Jóhannsson’s Lamb received the Prize of Originality. In 2015, Grímur Hákonarson's Rams won the Prix Un Certain Regard, given to the program's top film. The other three films were Dagur Kári's Dark Horse (2005), Sólveig Anspach's Stormy Weather (2003), and Óskar Jónasson's Remote Control (1993).