04/10/2010

Iceland's star writer/director/producer Baltasar Kormákur is wrapping shooting on his new domestic film The Deep (Djúpid) before turning to Hollywood for Contraband, the US remake of Reykjavik Rotterdam [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Based on true events that took place some 25 years ago and on a play by Jón Atli Jónasson, The Deep stars Jónasson as a young fisherman who swam in icy waters for over five hours while his comrades perished at sea.

"In this dramatic story with beautiful elements we follow this robust young man's epic struggle to survive and regain control of his life," said producer Agnes Johansen. It can also be seen as an allegory of Icelanders' attempt to swim out of their country's troubled economic waters and as a tribute to the country’s true heroes, the fishermen and their families.

The film was produced by Kormákur’s company Blueeyes Productions, in co-production with Norway's Filmhuset and with support from the Icelandic Film Centre, the Norwegian Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Eurimages.

Confident about The Deep's international potential, Johansen is currently negotiating world rights with several established sales companies.

Meanwhile, Kormákur’s second English-language film, Inhale, is hitting Icelandic screens this Friday and US screens later this October, via IFC Films. The prolific director’s next Hollywood film adventure, Contraband, is produced by London-based Working Title and stars Mark Wahlberg.

As for Blueeyes, the company’s latest title, Summerland, is currently in Iceland’s top ten box office chart. The satirical movie about the country’s financial crisis and its supernatural beliefs is the feature debut of Grimur Hakonarson, director of the award-winning shorts Wrestling and Slavek the Shit.