Baldvin Zophoníasson, or Baldvin Z, is an Icelandic film and television director, writer, and producer. He was born in 1978 in

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nickn ...

. He is best known for his films ''Jitters'', ''

Life in a Fishbowl ''Life in a Fishbowl'' ( is, Vonarstræti, literally ''Hope Street'') is a 2014 Icelandic drama film directed by Baldvin Zophoníasson. It was screened in the Discovery section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as ...

'', '' Let Me Fall'', and the television series ''

Réttur ''Réttur'' (, ''Right'') is an Icelandic television series created and produced by Sigurjón Kjartansson of RVK Studios, retitled ''Case'' and ''The Court'' in English-language markets. It was picked up by NBC and producer Howard Gordon Howa ...

'' and '' Trapped''.

Career

Baldvin's first feature film was the Icelandic-language teenage drama ''Jitters'' (titled ''Órói'' in Icelandic), released in 2010. The film portrays "the confusion and excitement of being a teenager". It won the Children's Film Award at the Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival. His second feature was the 2014 movie ''

'', co-written with Birgir Örn Steinarsson, which won at the

Edda Awards The Edda Award is an accolade bestowed annually by the Icelandic Film and Television Academy, and is the most prominent film and television award in Iceland, awarded annually in February. The ''Edda'' has awarded for outstanding work in various ca ...

(including

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

, and

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF ( et, Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIA ...

, and gathered numerous award nominations. The film is an ensemble drama set in the year before the severe

economic collapse Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of bad economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), to a ...

in Iceland in 2008. It portrays people from various walks of life whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. Baldvin's next major project was directing the third season of TV series ''

'', created by Sigurjón Kjartansson and produced by Saga Film for Icelandic national television

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...

and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

. He directed three episodes of Baltasar Kormákur's Nordic noir drama '' Trapped'' in 2016. In 2017, he released two documentaries. The first was titled ''Reynir Sterki: Beyond Strength'' and described the tragic life of vagabond strongman Reynir Örn Leósson. The second was '' Island Songs'', a real-time multimedia project documenting the creation of

Ólafur Arnalds Ólafur Arnalds (; born 3 November 1986) is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also the ...

' album ''Island Songs'' in various locations around Iceland. This was Ólafur's third collaboration with Baldvin, as he'd previously scored Baldvin's first two feature films. His second collaboration with Birgir Örn Steinarsson, the feature film '' Let Me Fall'', was released in 2018.

Director filmography

References

External links

* {{authority control Icelandic film directors Zophoniasson, Baldvin 1978 births People from Akureyri