Þorfinnur Ómarsson (born 25 October 1965) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic media personality and film and TV producer. Thorfinnur has worked in the Icelandic media and entertainment industry since the late 1980s. He was the managing director of the Icelandic Film Fund and the Icelandic Film Centre from 1996 to 2003.Marlene Edmunds
"Omarsson cooks up feature slate: Dagur taps film vet to head prod'n outfit"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 15 May 2005."Þorfinnur Ómarsson ráðinn ritstjóri Eyjunnar: Fyrrv. upplýsingafulltrúi viðskiptaráðuneytisins tekur við af Guðmundu Magnússyni"
''Viðskiptablaðið'' 12 April 2010. During this period, some of Iceland's most prolific film directors made their debuts, such as

Baltasar Kormákur Baltasar Kormákur Baltasarsson is an Icelandic actor, theatre and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films '' 101 Reykjavík'', '' The Sea'', '' A Little Trip to Heaven'', ''Contraband'', '' 2 Guns'', ''Eve ...

(''

101 Reykjavík ''101 Reykjavík'' () is a 2000 Icelandic romantic comedy film directed by Baltasar Kormákur and starring Victoria Abril and Hilmir Snær Guðnason. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason,Hallgrímur Helgason, ...

'') and

Dagur Kári Dagur Kári (born Dagur Kári Pétursson; 12 December 1973) is an Icelandic film director. Early life He was born in Paris, France, to Icelandic parents. The family returned to Iceland when he was 3 years old. After attending local schools as a ...

(''

Nói albínói ''Noi the Albino'' ( () is an Icelandic film by director Dagur Kári released in 2003. The film explores the life of teenage outsider Nói (played by Tómas Lemarquis) in a remote fishing village in western Iceland. It won multiple awards. ''N ...

''). Thorfinnur was one of the founders of the Icelandic Film and TV Academy, which runs the Icelandic

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 cat ...

. Thanks in part to Thorfinnur's contribution, the Icelandic Film Industry has been referred to as "the Hollywood of the North". He was the live-broadcast host of the first ceremony in 1999. From 2003 to 2005 he was the Director of Media and Communication Studies at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

, and was then hired by Dagur Group to head its production arm, BaseCamp. He has been host of ''

Ísland í dag Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

'' (Iceland today) on

Stöð 2 Stöð 2, literally Station 2, was an Icelandic subscription television channel. Founded in 1986, it was the first privately owned television station in Iceland following the lifting of the state monopoly on television broadcasting. Sister chan ...

(Icelandic Channel 2) and of ''Vikulokin'' (The End of the Week) on

Rás 1 Rás 1 (; ''Channel 1'') is an Icelandic radio station belonging to and operated by Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), Iceland's national public service broadcaster. Broadcast throughout Iceland on FM (92.4 and 93.5 MHz in Reykjavík), via DTV rad ...

. He is a member of the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

. Thorfinnur was the Chief Spokesperson for the

Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was a multinational body that existed from 2002 to 2008 to monitor the ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the ''Tamil Tigers'') during ...

in 2006 and 2007, and spokesperson for the Icelandic Ministry of Economics and Commerce from October 2008 to April 2009. In spring 2010 he became editor of ''Eyjan''. In 2016, Thorfinnur started his work as a Senior Officer and Head of Information and Communications at the

EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union ...

Secretariat, in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. There, Thorfinnur enjoys a spacious office located on the top floor of the new EFTA House.

Filmmaking career

Showcasing his intricate filmmaking skills, Thorfinnur directed the gonzo-style short film “EFTA House Tour” in 2021. The film was noted for its distinct use of a construction site as its main setting and its sharp criticism of “organizationalism” in modern bureaucracies, notably by drawing viewers attention to the excessive opulence of senior leaders’ office spaces in strong contrast to the shared reality of millions of office workers in an era of pandemic total confinement. The short film has been viewed more than 5 times on YouTube.

Personal life

Thorfinnur Omarsson was educated in France, where he also worked as a correspondent. He is a son of

Ómar Ragnarsson Ómar Þorfinnur Ragnarsson (born 16 September 1940) is an Icelandic environment activist and former entertainer, news reporter and Rallying, rally driver. Born in Reykjavík, Ómar began acting on stage at the age of 12 and started his career as ...

. Thorfinnur lives with Astrós Gunnarsdóttir, a theatre director, choreographer, dancer and

Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive e ...

instructor. He is also an award-winning chef.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omarsson, Thorfinnur Living people 1965 births