Hlynur Pálmason

Hlynur Pálmason (born 1984) is an Icelandic film director, screenwriter, and visual artist.

Hlynur Pálmason
Born	1984 (age 38–39) Höfn í Hornafirði, Iceland
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter, producer
Years active	2012–present
Awards	Edda Award for Best Director

Early life and education

Hlynur Pálmason was born in 1984^[1][2] in Höfn í Hornafirði, Iceland.^[3]

He studied film at the National Film School of Denmark in Copenhagen,^[3] graduating in 2013.^[4] He lived in Denmark for 10 years before returning to Höfn, a town on the Hornafjörður fjord.^[3]

He is also a visual artist.^[2]

Career

Pálmason has said he is more interested in "the narrative style and flow of films" than the actual plotline.^[2]

His debut feature film Winter Brothers (Vinterbrødre), which was filmed in Denmark,^[4] debuted at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in 2017.^[5] It went on to win the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film^[6] and the Robert Award for Best Danish Film, with Pálmason also winning the Robert Award for Best Director.^[7]

His second feature film, A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur), was filmed in Iceland, and many of the people he had worked with on Winter Brothers were also employed for this film, including the actor German cinematographer Maria von Hausswolff [de], editor Julius Krebs Damsbo, and sound designer Lars Halvorsen. He had previously collaborated with Icelandic actor Ingvar Sigurðsson on the short film he made for graduation, The Painter, in 2013.^[4] A White White Day was selected to screen in the International Critics' Week section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival,^[8] and was selected as Iceland's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020.^[9]

He followed up in 2022 with Godland (Vanskabte Land), which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival^[10] and was selected as Denmark's 2022 submission for the Nordic Council Film Prize.^[11] The film, its director, and several actors were nominated for many awards and won a number of them, including Gold Hugo for Best Feature Film at the Chicago Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the Riga International Film Festival in Latvia.^[12]

Pálmason won Director of the Year at Iceland's 2023 Edda Awards.^[12]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	A Day or Two	Director, writer	Short film
2013	A Painter (En maler)	Director, writer	Short film (for graduation^[4])
2014	Seven Boats	Director, writer, producer	Short film
2017	Winter Brothers (Vinterbrødre)	Director, writer, producer	Bodil Award for Best Danish Film Locarno Film Festival - Junior Jury Award, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Special Mention), Europa Cinemas Label Robert Award for Best Danish Film Robert Award for Best Director
2019	A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur)	Director, writer, executive producer
2022	Nest	Director, writer	Short film
2022	Godland (Volaða land)	Director, writer, executive producer

Personal life

Pálmason's daughter is Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, who plays significant roles in both A White White Day and Godland.^[13][14][15]

References

1. "Hlynur Pálmason". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
2. "Hlynur Pálmason". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
3. Riley, Lucinda; Börjlind, Rolf Börjlind og Cilla (23 August 2019). "Talað við hina dauðu". mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
4. Mitchell, Wendy (16 May 2019). "Hylnur Palmason on his Iceland-set Critics' Week selection 'A White, White Day'". Screen. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
5. Jessica Kiang, "Film Review: ‘Winter Brothers’". Variety, 5 August 2017.
6. Vassilis Economou, "Winter Brothers crowned Best Danish Film at the 71st Bodil Awards". Cineuropa, 19 March 2018.
7. . BILLED-BLADET (in Danish). 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
8. Goodfellow, Melanie. "Cannes Critics' Week unveils 2019 line-up". Screen. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
9. Sigríður Einarsdóttir, Gréta (25 September 2019). "A White, White Day Will Be Iceland's Submission to the Oscars". Iceland Review. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
10. Bunbury, Stephanie (27 May 2022). "Cannes Review: Hlynur Palmason's 'Godland'". Deadline. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
11. Mitchell, Wendy (25 August 2023). "Nordic Council Film Prize reveals five nominees for $40,000 award". Screen. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
12. "Godland (2022) - Awards". IMDb. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
13. Mitchell, Wendy (25 August 2023). "Hylnur Palmason on his Iceland-set Critics' Week selection 'A White, White Day'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
14. "A White, White Day with writer-director Pálmason". Arkansas Online. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
15. McDonald, John (17 July 2020). "Film review: A White, White Day". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

External links

• Hlynur Pálmason at the Icelandic Film Centre
• Hlynur Pálmason at IMDb