HEARTSTONE awarded in Chicago
Heartstone, the debut feature from Icelandic writer/director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson's, won the Gold Q Hugo award at the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival. The award honors those films in the OutLook program featuring LGBT stories and perspectives.
Last years winner was the Oscar nominated"Carol" by Todd Haynes. Regarding the choice of Heartstone for the award this year, the jury wrote: "For its piercingly honest portrait of adolescent sexuality, its alternately tough and warm empathy, and for how it effortlessly and evocatively captures a place and time".
Gudmundsson attended the festival, where he accepted the award in person.
Previously in October, Heartstone won three awards in the main competitive section of the Warsaw Film Festival in Poland: Gudmundsson himself won the best director award, the lead actor Baldur Einarsson won a special mention for his performance and the film won the Ecumenical award.
Heartstone had its world premiere in the Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Queer Lion Award. It has also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. Upcoming stops include Molodist Film Festival in Ukraine, CPH PIX in Denmark, Nordic Film Days in Lubeck, Germany, Sevilla European Film Festival in Spain, the Sao Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil and the Thessaloniki International Film festival in Greece.
About the film
Heartstone is set in a remote fishing village in Iceland. Teenage boys Thor and Christian experience a turbulent summer as one tries to win the heart of a girl while the other discovers new feelings toward his best friend. When summer ends and the harsh nature of Iceland reclaims its rightful place, it's time for the boys to leave the playground and face the acrimony of adulthood.
Heartstone was written and directed by Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson. It was produced by Anton Máni Svansson and Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson for Join Motion Pictures and Lise Orheim Stender and Jesper Morthorst for the Danish production company SF Studios Production. The film was shot by the Norwegian cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, edited by the Danes Anne Østerud and Janus Billeskov Jansen, and the score was composed by the Dane Kristian Eidnes Andersen. International sales are being handled by the Berlin-based Films Boutique.
The film was made with support from the Icelandic Film Centre, the Danish Film Institute and Eurimages.
Heartstone stars the promising young actors Baldur Einarsson, Blaer Hinriksson, Diljá Valsdóttir, Katla Njálsdóttir, Jónína Thórdís Karlsdóttir, Rán Ragnarsdóttir, Daníel Hans Erlendsson, Theodór Pálsson and Sveinn Sigurbjörnsson. The young cast is ably supported by veterans Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir, Søren Malling and Gunnar Jónsson.
In recent years Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson has garnered considerable notice for his award-winning short films, most notably Whale Valley. Among Whale Valley's 45 international awards is a special mention in the main competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
For more information about Heartstone, visit its Facebook page and the Icelandic Film Database.
For more information about writer/director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, visit the Icelandic Film Database.