Ólafur Arnalds

Ali, a blind man, is attempting to commit suicide when he is interrupted by the concierge of his building. He is informed that the police is in search of a woman who has escaped and hidden somewhere in the building. Little by little, Ali finds out that the fugitive woman, Leila, is inside his apartment. After participating in a workers’ protest that led to chaos, she is distraught about her four-year-old son who was lost when she was taken in a police van. Gradually, Ali becomes emotionally attached to her. Wishing to flee reality, helping Leila becomes a refuge in his own world of imagination.

The fate of the planet’s last untouched wilderness, the deep ocean, is under threat as a secretive organization is about to allow massive extraction of seabed metals to address the world’s energy crisis.

Leila and Damien struggle with his bipolar disorder.

WHEN WE ARE BORN is a unique live performance film that tells a touching and thoroughly human story based in part on Ólafur’s life. Filmed on location in Iceland in summer 2020, it features the contributions of an unparalleled creative collective including ground-breaking choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir, the Iceland Dance Company and cinematographer Thor Eliasson. The music in the film builds upon Ólafur’s critically praised new album ‘some kind of peace’ and was performed and recorded live on set, representing a constant cinematic conversation between picture and music. Vincent Moon’s intimate cinematic vision brings this layered metaphorical world to life as we see Ólafur’s music manifested and symbolised all around him through set design, lighting and dance. Through themes of rituals, relationships and exploration of our inner landscapes, this is a film focused on how we all move forward.

WHEN WE ARE BORN is a unique live performance film that tells a touching and thoroughly human story based in part on Ólafur’s life. Filmed on location in Iceland in summer 2020, it features the contributions of an unparalleled creative collective including ground-breaking choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir, the Iceland Dance Company and cinematographer Thor Eliasson. The music in the film builds upon Ólafur’s critically praised new album ‘some kind of peace’ and was performed and recorded live on set, representing a constant cinematic conversation between picture and music. Vincent Moon’s intimate cinematic vision brings this layered metaphorical world to life as we see Ólafur’s music manifested and symbolised all around him through set design, lighting and dance. Through themes of rituals, relationships and exploration of our inner landscapes, this is a film focused on how we all move forward.

WHEN WE ARE BORN is a unique live performance film that tells a touching and thoroughly human story based in part on Ólafur’s life. Filmed on location in Iceland in summer 2020, it features the contributions of an unparalleled creative collective including ground-breaking choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir, the Iceland Dance Company and cinematographer Thor Eliasson. The music in the film builds upon Ólafur’s critically praised new album ‘some kind of peace’ and was performed and recorded live on set, representing a constant cinematic conversation between picture and music. Vincent Moon’s intimate cinematic vision brings this layered metaphorical world to life as we see Ólafur’s music manifested and symbolised all around him through set design, lighting and dance. Through themes of rituals, relationships and exploration of our inner landscapes, this is a film focused on how we all move forward.

Who are the young people who are involved in the "Fridays for Future" movement and who relentlessly take to the streets for environmental and climate protection? What are their life like and how will their activism be influenced or changed by current events in 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic? The documentary accompanies them and shows how diverse, creative but also exhausting the protest work is, in that the filmmakers impressively tell of the fears, dreams, successes and defeats of the young people portrayed.

A materially successful young man, riddled with anxiety embarks on a worldwide journey of self inquiry, uncovering deep truths about who and what he is.

When 15-year-old Magnea meets Stella, everything changes. Stella's no-holds-barred lifestyle drags them both into a world of drugs, which brings serious consequences for each of them, and their relationship. Twelve years later their paths cross again, and a reckoning between them becomes unavoidable.

When 15-year-old Magnea meets Stella, everything changes. Stella's no-holds-barred lifestyle drags them both into a world of drugs, which brings serious consequences for each of them, and their relationship. Twelve years later their paths cross again, and a reckoning between them becomes unavoidable.

A film by Baldvin Z & Ólafur Arnalds Island Songs is a unique audio-visual portrait of my home country, Iceland. In 2016 I travelled to 7 towns across Iceland and collaborated with 7 local artists to create, record and perform a new composition. For 7 weeks we released a brand new song and live video every Monday. Alongside the performances we made this film, Island Songs, where we explore what makes these artists tick, the influence the country has had on their lives and try to show a different side of this island we all call home.

A film by Baldvin Z & Ólafur Arnalds Island Songs is a unique audio-visual portrait of my home country, Iceland. In 2016 I travelled to 7 towns across Iceland and collaborated with 7 local artists to create, record and perform a new composition. For 7 weeks we released a brand new song and live video every Monday. Alongside the performances we made this film, Island Songs, where we explore what makes these artists tick, the influence the country has had on their lives and try to show a different side of this island we all call home.

Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.

The tangled pathway through one’s sleeping imagination can effortlessly tangle fondest memories and tortured nightmares.

A woman’s sudden death and a discovered family secret disrupt everyone’s lives. After Marwa buries her mother, she discovers her mother’s wish to be buried elsewhere. Only hours before she is to leave Egypt for good, Marwa’s aunt decides to come through with her promise and bury her sister where she wished. Only something goes wrong with the aunt’s plans. Now Marwa finds herself stuck with her mother’s body in a box, just a few meters from Tahrir Square where revolution breaks out.

What is it about Icelandic culture that produces such a rich vein of music? Tónlist features Icelandic musicians, music industry experts, journalists - while utilising the breathtaking scenery from across the island for some truly stunning visuals that are heavily prominent in the doc. Volcanoes from the air, record stores, waterfalls, hotdog stands, glaciers and magnificent beards. Prominent Icelandic musician's such as Ólafur Arnalds, Ásgeir, Snorri Helgason, Múm, and Ólöf Arnalds are present to perform unique live performances in stunning locations and provide a greater insight into the ethos and character of Icelandic music. The doc of course boasts a gorgeous soundtrack consisting purely of music from Icelanders.

Three tales of three people who have a lasting effect on one another. A young writer whose career is skyrocketing finds himself in a stormy marriage. He divorces his wife after the death of their daughter, shuts himself from the outside world and drinks himself to death over a twenty-year period.

Iceland's first non-narrative full-feature film's focus is set on presenting Iceland in a way it has never been presented before, using various elements of high-end cinematography. There are places everyone knows, but there are also thousands of well hidden places. To find these locations one has to be adventurous or a local, and to capture them right, one has to be creative and extremely patient.

Between 1944–1953, courageous resistance movement took place in the Baltic region of Europe, uniting the partisan troops for struggle against the Soviet Union. “The Invisible Front” was a coded name used by the Soviet Interior forces to describe the resistance movement in Lithuania. Film depicts the story of the fighters through the words and experience of the partisan leader, Juozas Luksa, and interviews with eyewitnesses of those events - both the partisans and the Soviet fighters. Tales of horror, torture and courage are told in the rare archival footage that has never been screened before, and interviews with the surviving members of the resistance movement.

Documentary following a mobile blood donation team travelling through rural Russia, where people sell their blood to make ends meet.

After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.

People constantly appear walking through passageways in the films of Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu (1903-63). His art resides in the in-between spaces of modern life, in the transitory: alleys are no longer dark and threatening traps where suspense is born, but simple places of passage.

A wedding at her parents' Annapolis estate hurls high-strung Lynn into the center of touchy family dynamics.

In celebration of Ólafur Arnalds' recent BAFTA nomination for his score work on Broadchurch, Erased Tapes are streaming his 2011 Living Room Songs film in full; including behind the scenes footage which has previously only been available as part of the special edition CD/DVD set.

A story about a boy, his robot and the consequences of his anger at the disintegration of his parents marriage.

The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites. But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.

Some people are struggling to fit in, to go with the flow. Others are fighting to stand out. Who wants to be in a rat race that leaves no room for personality? The fact is: we never get any younger, no matter how much we buy the illusion. In the end there's only a painful cycle of disappointment. This is an accidental film. One scene led to another. A kind of story occurred.

An unexpected first kiss causes Gabriel to feel the electrifying "jitters" of love and lust with the free-spirited Marcus; a perfect way to end a Summer studying abroad. Realizing he is gay, Gabriel returns home and is immediately scrutinized by his family and friends who notice he’s different. But as the school year launches with Gabriel distracted with parties and his friends’ own dramas, Marcus returns, reigniting the hot, thrilling emotions of one’s first crush. Jitters fires head-first into the topsy-turvy world of first love with an attractive cast and pulsating soundtrack, making it a smartly refreshing journey into the queer, teen experience.

A self-funded, non-profit feature documentary exploring and celebrating Iceland’s contemporary independent music scene at the beginning of the 21st century. Featuring music by Ólafur Arnalds, Seabear, DJ Musician, Hafdis Huld, Berndsen, Mugison, Lara Runars, Severed Crotch and others.

"Where's The Snow?!" is the electrifying and compellingly-unique story of the most insane music festival you've never heard of - welcome to Iceland Airwaves

Emma quickly covers the question: "what is your greatest fear?"