Best Icelandic movies

In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist, he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel.

An Icelandic couple live with their herd of sheep on a beautiful but remote farm. When they discover a mysterious newborn on their land, they decide to keep it and raise it as their own. This unexpected development and the prospects of a new family brings them much joy before ultimately destroying them.

A modern-day lawyer is sucked into an international conspiracy after being accused of a murder she didn't commit. Her only chance of freedom lies in uncovering the secret of an old German WWII aeroplane, long buried deep beneath the ice, before the CIA.

Halla declares a one-woman-war on the local aluminium industry. She is prepared to risk everything to protect the pristine Icelandic Highlands she loves… Until an orphan unexpectedly enters her life.

Soon after the break of the pandemic and realizing that his clock is ticking, Kristofer gets the urge to embark on a journey to try to find out what really happened when his Japanese girlfriend mysteriously vanished without a trace from London fifty years earlier.

After an older lady hangs herself in a church, a new psychiatrist discovers she was obsessed with the disappearance of his eight-year-old son, who vanished three years earlier. Meanwhile, three city dwellers are restoring a house when they realize it is haunted.

A young girl in 1990s Iceland is caught between the life that took her brother and her own inability to strike out on her own. In her grief, she finds solace in metal and dreams of making her own music.

As the end approaches inexorably, the last humans, living millions of years into the future, send a message to the humanity of the present that is both a plea for help and a warning, but also an epic tale of evolution, decline and hope.

Ethereal post-rock pioneers Sigur Rós play a string of impromptu gigs in their native Iceland after finishing a world tour in 2006. As they travel through the country, the band visits a wide variety of venues, from a large outdoor festival to a coffee shop.

Comedian Ari Eldjárn pokes fun at Nordic rivalries, Hollywood’s take on Thor, the whims of toddlers and more.

When Baldvin and Inga's next door neighbours complain that a tree in their backyard casts a shadow over their sundeck, what starts off as a typical spat between neighbours in the suburbs unexpectedly and violently spirals out of control.

Paranoid computer programmer Simon wakes up to find a package in his room one day. Despite attempts at securing his apartment, the packages keep arriving. While cameras watch Simon's every move, he struggles to find the answers to the mysterious forces taking over his life.

In a remote Icelandic town, an off duty police chief begins to suspect a local man to have had an affair with his wife, who has recently died in a car accident. Gradually his obsession for finding out the truth accumulates and inevitably begins to endanger himself and his loved ones. A story of grief, revenge and unconditional love.

Based on an astonishing true incident that took place on the frigid seas off Iceland in 1984, The Deep fashions a modern-day everyman myth about the sole survivor of a shipwreck, whose superhuman will to survive made him both an inexplicable scientific phenomenon and a genuine national hero.

At the edge of Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, two women’s lives will intersect – for a brief moment – while trapped in circumstances unforeseen. Between a struggling Icelandic mother and an asylum seeker from Guinea-Bissau, a delicate bond will form as both strategize to get their lives back on track.

Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz's buddy comedy Land Ho! follows former brothers-in-law Mitch (Earl Lynn Nelson) and Colin (Paul Eenhoorn) as they travel through Iceland. The pair of 70-year-olds find themselves in need of an adventure to break out of their rut, and soon the extroverted Mitch has talked Colin into the trip. Along the way they have various amorous encounters, and attempt to recapture the spirit of their youth.

In the mid to late '90s, the Reykjavik crime and drug scene saw a drastic change from a relatively small and innocent world into a much more aggressive and violent one.. The film tells the story of this change through the fictional gang of pushers that took control of Iceland's underworld.

Thirty-year-old Hlynur still lives with his mother and spends his days drinking, watching porn and surfing the net while living off unemployment checks. A girl is interested in him, but he stands back from commitment. His mother's Spanish flamenco teacher, Lola, moves in with them for Christmas. On New Year's Eve, while his mother is away, Hlynur finds out Lola is a lesbian, but also ends up having sex with her. He soon finds out he and his mother are sharing more than a house. Eventually he must find out where he fits into the puzzle, and how to live life less selfishly.

When his daughter's criminal boyfriend becomes an increasing threat to the family, a father must take action to protect them.

17 year old Nói drifts through life on a remote fjord in Iceland. In winter, the fjord is cut off from the outside world, surrounded by ominous mountains and buried under a shroud of snow. Nói dreams of escaping from this white-walled prison with Íris, a city girl who works in a local gas station. But his clumsy attempts at escape spiral out of control.

A teenage boy, raised by a mother who considers herself psychic, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the group’s troubles escalate toward life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakens in the boy and, with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path.

Margit and her older sister Katla flee for safety after their mother is burned to death for witchcraft. Finding shelter with Johan and his resentful young son, Jonas, the sisters help form an impromptu family unit that’s soon strained by Katla’s burgeoning sorcery.

A murder opens up a bleak trail of long buried secrets and small town corruption for a worn out police detective and his squad.

Six people. Living in one building but following different paths. Each gets through the day in their own way – and with their own voice.

Insurance investigator Abraham Holt travels to a tiny town in rural Minnesota to look into a particularly unusual insurance claim stemming from a horrific car accident. As Holt examines the scene of the wreck, it all seems a bit too perfect. And when he interviews Isold Mcbride and her shifty husband, Fred -- the impoverished beneficiaries of the massive, recently initiated life-insurance policy -- he begins to suspect that something is amiss.

A country romance about the human streak in the horse and the horse in the human. Love and death become interlaced and with terrible consequences. The fortunes of the people in the country through the horses' perception.

The story follows a 16-year-old Icelandic boy, Ari, who lives with his mother in Reykjavík. She has to leave the country for a new job, sending him back to the small town of his youth. There he finds his old friend, suddenly a young woman with a tricky romantic relationship; and his father has become a victim of the financial crisis.

When Bússi, Iceland's toughest cop, is forced to work with a new partner to solve a series of bank robberies, the pressure to close the case as soon as possible proves too much for him.

Months after they broke up, Gunnar receives a strange phone call from his ex-boyfriend, Einar. He sounds distraught, like he's about to do something terrible to himself. Gunnar drives up to the secluded cabin where Einar is holed up and soon discovers that there's more going on than he imagined. As the two men come to terms with their broken relationship, some other person seems to be lurking outside the cabin, wanting to get in.

An unexpected first kiss causes Gabriel to feel the electrifying "jitters" of love and lust with the free-spirited Marcus; a perfect way to end a Summer studying abroad. Realizing he is gay, Gabriel returns home and is immediately scrutinized by his family and friends who notice he’s different. But as the school year launches with Gabriel distracted with parties and his friends’ own dramas, Marcus returns, reigniting the hot, thrilling emotions of one’s first crush. Jitters fires head-first into the topsy-turvy world of first love with an attractive cast and pulsating soundtrack, making it a smartly refreshing journey into the queer, teen experience.

Through 56 independent scenes, Echo draws a portrait, both biting and tender, of modern day Iceland during the often turbulent but also exciting time of the Christmas holidays.

A widowed farmer begins a new life on her own terms by fighting against corruption and injustice in her community.

An epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel has just gone bust, and everything goes out of control.

The film shows a strong bond between two brothers that live in a remote fjord with their parents. We look into their world through the eyes of the younger brother and follow him on a journey that marks a turning point in the lives of the brothers.

Three tales of three people who have a lasting effect on one another. A young writer whose career is skyrocketing finds himself in a stormy marriage. He divorces his wife after the death of their daughter, shuts himself from the outside world and drinks himself to death over a twenty-year period.

Vikings pillage Ireland, seeking silver and slaves, slaying men and women in the process. A young boy is spared when a Viking takes pity on him instead of killing him. Twenty years later the boy returns to Iceland take his revenge.

Hannes is an old man who has grown apart from his children. Recently retired when his wife gets ill he tries to reconcile with them and to atone for his cold demeanor in the past.

When the light breaks on a long summer’s day in Iceland. From one sunset to another, Una, a young art student, encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty.

When 15-year-old Magnea meets Stella, everything changes. Stella's no-holds-barred lifestyle drags them both into a world of drugs, which brings serious consequences for each of them, and their relationship. Twelve years later their paths cross again, and a reckoning between them becomes unavoidable.

An investigation by Óðinn on decades old deaths at a juvenile treatment center, as he proceeds he suspects that the sinister secrets are connected to his ex-wife's mysterious suicide.

The star player of Icelands top football team causes a stir when he admits to being gay to his team mates and then goes on a journey to discover himself (with the help of the local press). He soon finds himself on the bench for most of his teams matches and decides to call it quits and join a small amateur team made up of men like himself - gay guys trying to play football in a straight world of Icelandic fishing culture machoism

The pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist, BDSM-provocative, techno-punk performance art ensemble Hatari unsurprisingly drew attention to themselves with their performance at the Icelandic qualifiers for the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so that they won and therefore were allowed to perform at the main event in Tel Aviv. But what now? Should they boycott the event, swallow their idealism, or use their airtime to criticise the host country for their illegal occupation of Palestine? The Icelandic director Anna Hildur joins the boys in the band all the way to the fateful final.

Following the career of Björk, this documentary looks at her early musical career with local icelandic bands, her acclaimed stint in The Sugarcubes, and her massive success as a free-spirited solo artist.

Robbie Rotten, the primary antagonist of LazyTown, attempts to teach his "dream team" of villainous accomplices how to successfully catch a superhero, specifically Sportacus.

One small bully's encounters in life. As he tries to torture 2 small boys, he finds himself tortured as he is abused by a carpenter in his hometown who both sexually assaults him and prejudices against his crossdressing tendencies. However he finds shelter in his ability to be fired from a cannon and moves to Amsterdam to pursue his career.

When 90% of Iceland’s women walked off the job and out of their homes one morning in 1975, they brought their country to its knees and catapulted Iceland to the forefront of today's global fight for gender equality. Unexpectedly funny, laced with evocative animation and powerfully told by the women who lived it – this is the true story of 12 hours that launched a revolution.

The story takes place during one bright summer night and follows a group of young teenagers on a journey from innocence to adulthood. The main character is a timid boy who has a typical schoolboy crush on a girl his age, who happens to be a friend of his mate.

A group of friends meet for a dinner, and for fun start a party game where everyone must share everything that comes into their phones. Before long, the secrets spill out and threaten to spoil the most important thing of all, the 'hygge'.

A group of Icelanders attend a course to search for their inner self.

Stella and Salomon run a business together, framkoma.is. Salomon is hired by Anton Skúlason, pilot, to beautify and transform a village, that he owns. Stella stays in the town and starts teaching politicians how to act for the coming elections. By accident Stella gets involved with the Centrum party, the main rival of the Central party, and before she knows it she's head over heals in politics.

Fishing, friendship, and wrestling with your new favorite superhero.

When a hitman is hired to hunt an evil overlord, things go wrong.

An Oscar nominated Icelandic short film about an old man who might leave his farm but keeps a secret.

A two-part documentary about Daði & Gagnamagnið, introducing viewers to the band’s story since first taking part in the Icelandic national competition for Eurovision in 2017.

Andri, an anxious teenage boy, hides and represses his sexuality in fear of his masculine father's reaction but, on the eve of Andri's first date, he finds a clever way to reveal his secret.

Centers on Georg Bjarnfreðarson, an over-educated know-it-all who has just been released from jail after a ten year sentence for manslaughter, but is still a prisoner of his own past.

A film by Baldvin Z & Ólafur Arnalds Island Songs is a unique audio-visual portrait of my home country, Iceland. In 2016 I travelled to 7 towns across Iceland and collaborated with 7 local artists to create, record and perform a new composition. For 7 weeks we released a brand new song and live video every Monday. Alongside the performances we made this film, Island Songs, where we explore what makes these artists tick, the influence the country has had on their lives and try to show a different side of this island we all call home.

Saga gets hit by a fierce epileptic attack walking in a public park with her six-year-old son resulting in a total memory loss. Afraid of being considered unable to take care of her son, Saga attempts to hide her state from others and occupies herself digging for the answers she needs from within. As she struggles to gather bits and pieces from her forgotten life, repressed memories that Saga unconsciously blocked as a child suddenly start to come back, revealing a painful truth about herself and her past.

An elderly couple leave their retirement home to make one last journey back to their home in the Western Fjords.

In 1940, when there are British forces in Iceland, a country boy goes to Reykjavik to work for the army and to find what became of his childhood sweetheart. He soon discovers that she's having an affair with a British soldier. Moreover, he starts to suspect that the soldier, instead of being an officer and a gentleman, is in fact a very peculiar kind of monster.

The Icelandic parliament has been presented with a bill which will allow the Institute for State Supervision to create a SuperCode Databank which will centralize all other databanks based on personal ID numbers; with this SuperCode the Institute can follow and monitor everyone’s behavior. Hannes, a middle-aged man who still lives with his aging mother, works at the Institute, and he is the originator of the idea. Hannes has already secretly started working on it on his computer, even though it is uncertain that Parliament will agree to it. Hannes is in love with Stefania, the new secretary in the Institute, and hopes to impress her with his “private” SuperCode Databank. But one day, Hannes’s computer, containing the databank, is stolen. Hannes is afraid of the consequences if it is discovered he has been working on the SuperCode illegally. He starts trying to catch the thief himself only to become a victim of the very systems he has believed in and worked so hard to strengthen.

Since his mother wants to watch TV, Axel, a young auto-mechanic, must recover her remote control, accidentally taken by his punk sister Maja. During his quest, he becomes involved in the conflict between Moli, the liquor smuggler, and Aggi, a night club owner who wants to be Iceland's first mafia boss.

Three men working at a petrol station in Reykjavik battle boredom, strange visitors and their own customers.

Things are upside-down in LazyTown. Stephanie, an optimistic girl with bright pink hair, comes to live in LazyTown and meets a zany mix of townspeople, including the world’s laziest super-villain, Robbie Rotten. Fortunately for Stephanie, LazyTown is also under the watchful eye of Sportacus, an athletic, super-active, slightly-above-average hero, who runs, jumps, flips and flies to the rescue in his futuristic AirShip. Sportacus always manages to save the day and to help the kids of LazyTown foil Robbie’s latest lazy schemes. The citizens of Lazytown learn the importance of things like eating right and exercising from the ultra-athletic superhero, Sportucus, who must stop the evil plots of Robbie Rotten, who hates physical activity, among other things.

Part road movie, part musical, part serious inquiry into the caverns of the mind. Þriðji pólinn follows Anna Tara Edwards, an Icelander raised in Nepal, and legendary musician Högni Egilsson, as they journey to Anna’s childhood home in the mountain jungles to explore the afflictions and superpowers that come with bipolar disorder.