Valdimar Jóhannsson (born 28 April 1978) is an Icelandic

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 ...

and

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. ...

. Valdimar was born in northern

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 ...

in 1978. He has worked in various filmmaking jobs, including grip, lighting, cinematographer and effects technician on projects including '' Rogue One'', '' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'', '' LazyTown'', '' Amundsen'', ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'', and '' Prometheus''. In 2003 he made his first short film entitled ''Pjakkur''. He presented his short film ''Dolor'' in 2008 at the

Reykjavík International Film Festival Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF; is, Alþjóðleg kvikmyndahátíð í Reykjavík ) is an international film festival held annually in Reykjavík, Iceland. The festival lasts 11 days each year and emphasizes young talents. One way o ...

. From 2013 to 2015 he participated in the PhD program at Béla Tarr's Film Factory in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

. Valdimar's first feature film was '' Lamb'' (2021), which he both directed and wrote. ''Lamb'' swept the board at the 2022

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 ...

, winning 12 titles, including Best Film and Best Screenplay for Valdimar. ''Lamb'' also won

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

Prize for Originality in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

, the

Nordic Council Film Prize The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The Nordisk Film & TV Fond is the funding body that administers the prize. History The first award was handed out in 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's 5 ...

, and was shortlisted for the

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. Valdimar lives in Reykjavík with his wife and daughters.

Filmography

As director: * ''Pjakkur'' (2003 short) * ''Dolor'' (''Harmsaga'') (2008 short) * ''Dawn'' (''Dögun'') (2012 short) * '' Lamb'' (''Dýrið'') (2021) * '' Circus Maximus'' (2023) (segments)

References

External links

Valdimar Jóhannsson
at the Icelandic Film Centre * 1978 births Valdimar Johannsson Valdimar Johannsson Living people {{Iceland-film-director-stub