Ragnar Bragason (born 15 September 1971) is an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and producer.

Life and career

Droplaug was born in

Súðavík Súðavík () is a fishing village and municipality (Súðavíkurhreppur ) on the west coast of Álftafjörður in Westfjords, Iceland. History On January 16, 1995, an avalanche fell on the village early in the morning (around 6:25 am) and destro ...

. He is best known for his films '' Börn'' (''Children'') and ''

Foreldrar ''Foreldrar'' (''Parents'') is a 2007 Icelandic film written and directed by Ragnar Bragason. ''Foreldrar'' won five Edda Awards in 2007, and follows his 2006 film '' Börn'' (''Children''). Plot Óskar (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson Ingvar ...

'' (''Parents''), both

Edda Award 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 ...

winners, and the popular TV series ''

Næturvaktin ''Næturvaktin'' () is an Icelandic television show. It is the first in a trilogy, its sequels being '' Dagvaktin'' () and '' Fangavaktin'' (). The series was first shown in 2007 on Stöð 2, on Sundays from 16 September – 9 December. In ...

'' (''The Night Shift''), ''

Dagvaktin ''Dagvaktin'' ( en, The Day Shift) is a sequel to the Icelandic television series ''Næturvaktin''. It is the second of the three series in the trilogy. The three main characters from ''Næturvaktin'', Georg Bjarnfreðarson (Jón Gnarr), Ólafur R ...

'' (''The Day Shift''), and ''

Fangavaktin ''Fangavaktin'' ( en, The Prison Shift) is the sequel to the Icelandic television series ''Dagvaktin'' and the final series in the trilogy. The three main characters from ''Næturvaktin'', Georg Bjarnfreðarson (Jón Gnarr), Ólafur Ragnar (Pétu ...

'' (''The Prison Shift''). Ragnar grew up in the village of Súðavík, in a family of fishermen and farmers. He got his start making short videos in college. After directing many music videos, shorts and documentaries, he released his first feature-film ''

Fíaskó ''Fíaskó'' (English title: ''Fiasco'') is an Icelandic film written and directed by Ragnar Bragason and released in 2000. Synopsis The film is divided into three chapters and looks at three generations of a family living under one roof in Re ...

'' (''Fiasco'') in 2000. In his earlier work he used traditional ways of writing and directing, but more recently Ragnar has followed methods similar to those of

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

and

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

of working with his actors to create characters and screenplays through improvisation. His work has been nominated seventy-one times for 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 ...

, the annual Icelandic film and TV awards, and has received the awards thirty two times. ''Fíaskó'' was awarded Special Jury Prize at the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

in 2000. With the film ''Börn'' he won the Golden Swan for best film at

Copenhagen International Film Festival Copenhagen International Film Festival (CIFF) was a film festival held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2003 to 2008. The main prize, the Golden Swan, was awarded for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Script and Best Cinem ...

in 2007 and the award for Best Direction at the

Transilvania International Film Festival The Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF; ro, Festivalul internațional de film Transilvania) is the first international feature film festival in Romania, which is held annually in the historic capital of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. Found ...

in 2007. His film, '' Málmhaus'' (''Metalhead''), had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

2013 In 2012, Ragnar wrote and directed his debut play ''Gullregn'' (''Laburnum''), staged at The Reykjavik City Theater. The play received eight nominations for the Icelandic Performing Arts Awards 2013 and won two, among them Director of the Year. His second play, ''Óskasteinar'' (''Small Change''), also premiered at the Reykjavik City Theater and won best Supporting Actress at the Icelandic Performing Arts Awards 2014. His latest film, "Gullregn" ("Laburnum"), is based on the play he debuted in 2012.

Filmography (as director)

*''

'' (''Fiasco'') (2000) * "Aumingjaskápurinn" in ''Dramarama'' (2001) *'' Börn'' (''Children'') (2006) –

winner *''

'' (''Parents'') (2007) –

winner *''

'' (''The Night Shift'') (2007) *''

'' (''The Day Shift'') (2008) *''

'' (''The Prison Shift'') (2009) *''

Bjarnfreðarson ''Bjarnfreðarson'' is a 2009 Icelandic comedy film directed by Ragnar Bragason, director of the TV series trilogy consisting of '' Næturvaktin'', '' Dagvaktin'' and '' Fangavaktin'', to which it is a sequel. At its première in Iceland, it wa ...

'' (2009) *''Heimsendir'' (''World's End'') (2011) *'' Metalhead'' (2013) *''

Gullregn ''The Garden'' ( is, Gullregn) is a 2020 Icelandic film written and directed by Ragnar Bragason. It won the Edda Award for Best Film Best Film (''Kvikmynd ársins'' or ''Bíómynd ársins'' in Icelandic) is the main category of Edda Award, and ...

'' (''The Garden'') (2020) –

winner

References

* Cowie, Peter. 2000. ''Icelandic Films: 1980–2000''. Reykjavík: The Icelandic Film Fund.

External links

"Ragnar Bragason's ''Children'' Sweeps Iceland's Edda Noms" (Twitchfilm.net)

CHILDREN named one of ‘The 10 Best European Films of 2006’ by European-films.net

The Icelandic Film Centre, List of recipients 2007

Edda Awards, The annual film and TV awards in Iceland, List of recipients

Icelandic Film Center, entry for ''Fíaskó''
*
Laburnum on stage.is
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bragason, Ragnar 1971 births Living people

Ragnar Bragason Ragnar Bragason (born 15 September 1971) is an Icelandic film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Droplaug was born in Súðavík, Iceland. He is best known for his films '' Börn'' (''Children'') and '' Foreldrar'' (''Paren ...