Iceland at the Berlinale
The 72nd Berlin International Film Festival (or Berlinale) will be held from February 10 – 20.
See also: Iceland at the Berlinale
Panorama
Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson‘s feature film, Beautiful Beings, will have its world premiere in the Panorama section.
Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As their behavior escalates towards life-threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence?
International sales: New Europe Film Sales
Screenings
Friday, February 11, 15:30, Zoo Palast 1 (Premiere)
Friday, February 11, 16:10, Cubix 1 (Industry screening)
Saturday, February 12, 21:00, Zoo Palast 2
Thursday, February 17, 19:00, Zoo Palast 1
Friday, February 18, 11:00, Cubix 9
Sunday, February 20, 20:00, CinemaxX 3
EFM screenings
Saturday, February 12, 11:00, Virtual Cinema 11
Monday, February 14, 12:40, Virtual Cinema 6
Tuesday, February 15, 14:30, Panorama
Press screening
Thursday, February 10, 21:00, CinemaxX 1
Berlinale Special
The short film Nest, by Hlynur Pálmason, will have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special presentation. Nest was handpicked by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and will be presented together with Lucrecia Martel's Terminal Norte in a combined program as one special event.
A story of siblings building a tree house together over the course of a year. We experience the beauty and brutality of the seasons, as we follow them through their struggles and moments of joy.
International Sales New Europe Film Sales
Screenings
Monday. February 14, 14:00, Akademie der Künste (Premiere)
Tuesday, February 15, 20:30, Cubix 7
Wednesday, February 16, 17:00, CinemaxX 2 (Industry screening)
Friday, February 18, 11:00, Cubix 5 & 6Saturday, February 19, 15:00, Cubix 5 & 6
Berlinale Series
The TV series Black Sands, directed by Baldvin Z, will have its international premiere in the Berlinale Series section.
Anita, a DI in her thirties, is forced to return to the hometown she fled 14 years ago. A reckoning with her mother is inescapable, but when the body of a young woman is found, everything is upended. Anita is dragged down into the dark abyss of her past, looking for a possible serial killer and the reckoning turns into a nightmare.
International sales All3Media International
Screenings
Saturday, February 12, 21:45, International, 2/8 Episodes (Premiere)
Sunday, February 13, 18:00, Zoo Palast 2, 2/8 Episodes
Thursday, February 17, 14:15, CinemaxX 9, 2/8 Episodes
Berlinale Special Gala
The feature film Against the Ice, by Peter Flinth and produced by RVK Studios for Netflix, will have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special Gala section.
In 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Denmark expedition in ice-covered Greenland.
International distributor Netflix
Screenings
Tuesday, February 15, 21:00, Friedrichstadt-Palast (Premiere)
Wednesday, February 16, 12:00, Akademie der Künste
Saturday, February 19, 21:00, Urania
Press screenings
Monday, February 14, 20:00, CinemaxX 6
Monday, February 14, 20:00, CinemaxX 5
Tuesday, February 15, 09:00, CinemaxX 6
Tuesday, February 15, 09:00, CinemaxX 7
European Film Market
A tough supercop is fighting a inner struggle at the same time as he is investigating a string of bank robberies where nothing seems to have been stolen.
International sales Alief
Screenings:
Friday, February 11, 15:00 CET, Virtual Cinema 21
Sunday, February 13, 09:10 CET, Virtual Cinema 6
After receiving a mysterious message from a local activist, journalist Hannis Martinsson returns home to the Faroes, only for her dead body to surface amid a local whale hunt. Trom will premiere on Viaplay on February 13 and has recently been acquired by BBC.
International sales REinvent Studios
Screening:
Monday, February 14, 16:00 CET, Series Market Selects
Saga, a single mother, gets hit by a fierce epileptic attack that results in total memory loss. Afraid of being considered unable to take care of her son, Saga attempts to hide her condition from others. As she struggles to gather bits and pieces from her forgotten life, repressed memories from her childhood start to return, revealing the truth about her past.
International sales Alief
Screenings:
Sunday, February 13, 13:10 CET, Virtual Cinema 5
Monday, February 14, 11:00 CET, Virtual Cinema 15
Tóti Gudnason nominated for HARPA Nordic Film Composers Award
The Icelandic composer and guitarist Tóti Gudnason is nominated for this year's HARPA Nordic Film Composers Award for his score for Valdimar Jóhannsson's Lamb, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. The award is presented annually to the most outstanding Nordic score of the year, nominated by a national jury. An international jury determines the winner, which this year will be announced on Saturday February 12 during Nordic Film Music Days, which runs during the Berlinale. Lamb is Gudnason's first score as a sole composer after having worked as an arranger and composer's assistant with a variety of renowned artists.
Icelandic Film Centre @ Berlinale
Laufey Gudjónsdóttir, Director (laufey@icelandicfilmcentre.is)
Christof Wehmeier, (online presence) Head of Festival Promotion (christof@icelandicfilmcentre.is)
To hear more about the Nordic films and exclusive interviews with the Icelandic filmmakers at Berlinale, hosted by Wendy Mitchell, follow Scandinavian Films on Facebook, Instagram or Youtube.
New TV series from Iceland
In postproduction
More information on Icelandic films currently in production can be found here.