Icelandic films selected for six consecutive Cannes Film Festivals
The film When the Light Breaks by Rúnar Rúnarsson will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 15th. The film will open the Un Certain Regard category of the festival, which showcases artistically daring films. Rúnarsson's first feature film, Volcano, premiered in the Director's Fortnight (Quinzaine des cinéastes) category of the festival in 2011. Prior to that, his short films Two Birds and Anna had been selected for screening at the festival.
Icelandic films have been a part of the Cannes Film Festival's selection continuously since 2018 when Benedikt Erlingsson's film Woman at War was selected for the Critics' Week (Semaine de la critique), indicating recognition and consistency in the quality or appeal of Icelandic cinema at an international level.
Recently, Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter's short film Fár competed for the short film Palme d'Or in 2023, reiceiving special mention. The year before that, Hlynur Pálmason's Godland was selected for Un Certain Regard. Hlynur also premiered his film White, White Day in the Critics' Week in 2019. In 2021, Valdimar Jóhannsson's Lamb was awarded the prize of originality in Un Certain Regard, and in 2015, the film Rams, directed by Grímur Hákonarson, won the main prize in the category. Other Icelandic films shown in Un Certain Regard include Sódóma Reykjavík by Óskar Jónasson in 1993, Stormy Weather by Sólveig Anspach in 2003, and Voksne mennesker by Dagur Kári in 2005.
The Cannes Film Festival 2024 takes place from May 14th to 25th.
Photo: From the world premiere of Hlynur Pálmason's Godland in Cannes 2022.