Light in the Dark: A History of Filmmaking in Iceland

Light in the Dark tells the dramatic history of Icelandic cinema from its modest origin in the early twentieth century to the heterogenous and complex national cinema of today. In tracing this wide-ranging history, author Björn Norðfjörð describes the constant tug between local and national cultural forces and the transnational and global pull of world cinema.

Norðfjörð starts by casting light on the earliest films made in the country, expanding outward to survey Scandinavians adaptations of Icelandic literature filmed during the late silent period, documentaries of the interwar period, and the first narrative features following the end of World War II and national independence. He traces the emergence of national cinema proper to the 1980s, with the foundation of the Icelandic Film Fund, explores the subsequent impact of first European art cinema and then Hollywood genre cinema, and finally considers the remarkable international success of Icelandic cinema in the twentieth-first century. Along the way, Norðfjörð draws attention to many additional issues and topics regarding Icelandic cinema, including depictions of nature and animals, the aesthetics of fire and ice, the role of film adaptation, the impact of Nordic noir and crime fiction, Hollywood runaway productions, and the question of women’s cinema in Icelandic filmmaking. Throughout the book, films from all periods of Icelandic filmmaking are analysed in detail with equal emphasis on content and form, including both lesser known titles and key films like The Outlaw and His Wife (Victor Sjöström, 1917), Salka Valka (Arne Mattson, 1954), Land and Sons (Ágúst Guðmundsson, 1980), When the Raven Flies (Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, 1984), Cold Fever (Friðrik ór Friðriksson, 1995), 101 Reykjavík (Baltasar Kormákur), Rams (Grímur Hákonarson, 2015) and Godland (Hlynur Pálmason, 2022).

Björn Norðfjörð is Associate Professor of the English department at St. Olaf College, where he also currently directs the Film and Media Studies program. Previously from 2006 to 2014, he taught at the University of Iceland where he developed a new program in Film Studies. He has published widely on Nordic cinema in both Icelandic and English, including a book on Nói the Albino.