EFA Selection

WOMAN AT WAR

Benedikt Erlingsson | Iceland, France, Ukraine | 2018 | 101 min.
O.V. in Icelandic subtitled in Spanish
 GRAND AUDIENCE AWARD

The eagerly awaited return of Erlingsson after Of Horses and Men doesn’t disappoint, in an ingenious mixture of comedy, musical and an ecological declaration, with a touch of thriller. No one could suspect that Halla, the conductor of the town choir, is “the woman at war”, the eco-terrorist who attacks electrical posts with saws, bow and arrows in defence of the landscape. A brave stand that will reach a breaking point when Halla receives a letter saying that her request to adopt a Ukrainian girl has been accepted.

Direction: Benedikt Erlingsson
Script: Benedikt Erlingsson, Ólafur Egill Egilsson
Cinematography: Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson
Editing: Davíð Alexander Corno Music: Davíð Þór Jónsson
Cast: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Davíð Þór Jónsson, Magnús Trygvason Eliasen
Production: Benedikt Erlingsson, Carine Leblanc, Marianne Slot
Production Company: Gulldrengurinn, Slot Machine, Vintage Pictures, Köggull, Solar Media Entertainment

Benedikt Erlingsson

The Icelandic director, writer and actor, Erlingsson is well known as a stage director and also for his roles in theater, television series and films. His solo performances, which he has done for six straight years, are among the most successful in the history of Icelandic theatre. Of Horses and Men, his first film as writer and director, won over twenty international awards, including the Kutxa-New Directors Award at San Sebastian and the 2014 Film Award from the Nordic Council. His latest film, Woman at War, premiered in the Critics’ Week at Cannes.