Hilmar Oddsson
Directing
Biography
Hilmar Oddsson (born 19 January 1957; Reykjavík) is an Icelandic film director, screenwriter, film producer and musician. Hilmar was born in 1957, as the first child of the playwright and theatre director Oddur Björnsson (1932-2011) and his first wife Borghildur Thors (born 1933). He has a younger sister (born 1958). He attended school at Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík, where he was active in the theatre club. Until 1986 he studied at the University of Television and Film Munich. This was followed by his first directing work, for which he also wrote the screenplays. In 1995, Hilmar Oddsson made a biopic about Icelandic composer Jón Leifs called Tears of Stone (Tár úr steini). Hilmar won the Edda Award for Best Director (Leikstjóri ársins) and Edda Award for Best Film (Bíómynd ársins) in 2004 for his work Cold Light (Kaldaljós). His other films include The Beast and No Trace. In addition to his feature films, Hilmar Oddsson was involved in the creation of numerous television reports, video clips and commercials. From 2004 to 2006 he was chairman of the Icelandic Directors' Guild (Samtök kvikmyndaleikstjóra). Besides his work as a filmmaker, Hilmar Oddsson is also a musician. He also played both guitar and keyboard in the band Melchior since 1973, releasing three albums. He composed the film music for his film The Beast (Eins og skepnan deyr). In 1989, Hilmar Oddsson released the solo album Og augun opnast. From 1998 to 2006, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.[1] Hilmar Oddsson was Dean of the Icelandic Film School (Kvikmyndaskóli Íslands) from 2010 to 2017. His married to actress Þórey Sigþórsdóttir and has two children, including actress Hera Hilmar.
Known For
The Cliff is a dramatic mystery about a Crime Detective who is sent to a small community in Iceland to help a local policewoman investigate a suspicious accident. Together they unravel a mystery that involves bizarre incidents and unexplained deaths.
The Cliff
December is a present-day tale set in Reykjavik during the holiday season. Jonni (Tomas Lemarquis) returns to Iceland to spend Christmas with his family and to record an album with his old (one-hit-wonder) band. He soon finds out that circumstances in his family have changed dramatically and his friends have moved on. We follow Jonni as he deals with this blunt new reality. Tomas Lemarquis, the star of Noi the Albino, plays Jonni, a musician who after a long time living abroad returns to home Iceland to spend Christmas with his family and record an album with his old (one-hit-wonder) band. He soon finds out that family circumstances have changed dramatically and that his friends have moved on. Dealing with this blunt new reality, Jonni also has to wrestle with the reigniting of an old flame, as he helps his family make Christmas merry in spite of everything.
December
What could be better than knowing your future? And what could be worse? A love-filled childhood abruptly ends when catastrophe descends. A catastrophe that the child had foreseen yet failed to act upon.
Cold Light
Five friends gather for a celebration that spins wildly out of control. Something goes terribly wrong. Next morning, national sports icon, swimmer Gulli Björns wakes up beside the naked body of a woman. No one knows who she is. No one knows where she comes from. Not his girlfriend. Nor his best buddy. No one remembers what happened. Now, as the questions fly fast and furious, Björns must wander through a mirrored maze of half-truth and full-blown lies to discover the shocking truth in a swirl of deception, manipulation and murder.
No Trace
The death of Jon's mother forces him to take on a journey with her corpse in the backseat to fulfill her last wish. Bresnef the dog comes along and this trip will be the gamechanger Jon never dreamt of.
Driving Mum
About Icelandic composer Jon Leifs (1899-1968) who spent much of his life in Germany before WWII. The film begins in the 1930s after he has married the daughter of an industrialist, Annie, who is also a concert pianist. This era was frustrating for Leifs because his works were seldom performed. Iceland's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995
Tears of Stone
Some Icelanders maintain a strong and mysterious relationship with Snæfellsjökull, a volcano-glacier located in the West of the island. This volcano has become universally celebrated, thanks to Jules Verne who indicated that it was the gateway leading to the center of the Earth.
The Mysteries of Snæfellsjökull
No plot synopsis found anywhere online.
Sjómaðurinn, spákonan, blómasalinn, skóarinn, málarinn og Sveinn
The film tells the story of Maja and Nikulás meeting and how they develop a friendship when she starts to visit him regularly. This worries Bergur, Nikulás' son, especially after he learns that his father intends to leave the girl an inheritance, a Chinese vase. Bergur takes action, and the short-lived adventure ends in a more tragic way than is usually the case in fairy tales.
Cinderella and the Man Who Had No Trousers
Helgi is a young man that dreams about becoming a writer and returns to his childhood home with his girlfriend Lára. While he's there he becomes obsessed with shooting a reindeer for unclear reasons. Iceland's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986
The Beast
The inhabitants of a small island is attacked by weird outsiders.
God Exists, and So Does Love
A young filmstudent, Haraldur Ari Karlsson, spoke to his teacher, the director Hilmar Oddsson, enthusiastic about making a short about how he experienced his father´s death, at the age of five, and how the event has shaped his life.
Breki
No description available.
An Ordinary Day
A young man discovers holes in his hands, which he soon realises are spreading.
Holes
Most of his working life after that was spent in Germany and Switzerland but Iceland remained a refuge, an inspiration, the home to his family and a second home to Dieter, whose legacy left a distinctive mark on the Icelandic and international art scenes. The director knew Dieter from early childhood and now embarks upon a journey to different parts of the world to gather pieces in his Dieter Roth Puzzle. What emerges is a colourful portrait of an exceptional person; one of the most singular and important artists of our time, as described by his family, many friends and colleagues.