In a major coup, director Baldvin Z (“Black Sands,” “Life in a Fishbowl”), also co-owner of Icelandic production banner Glassriver, has convinced heavy-hitter director-producer Baltasar Kormákur(“Beast”, “Everest,” “Trapped”) to go back to acting for his forthcoming intense drama “Dark Ocean.”
Other Icelandic stars lined up so far include Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (“Severance,” “Trapped,” “True Detective”), Þorsteinn Backmann (“True Detective,” “Katla”), and Thorvaldur Kristjansson (“The Minister,” “The Darkness”).
The first cast members and plot of the Icelandic/English-language project are set to be announced today by Baldvin Z, writer Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson and Glassriver producer Gudgeir “Gucci” Arngrimsson at the Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, Norway.
Best-known internationally as the helmer of both Hollywood (“2 Guns,” “Beast”), U.S/U.K. (“Everest”) and Icelandic pics such as “Touch” for which he received a Nordic Council Film Prize nomination last year at Haugesund, Kormákur’s initial training came as an actor from Iceland’s National Academy of Fine Arts. A
fter his first steps in theatre, he starred in multiple pics including his own breakout film “101 Reykjavík.” His last screen appearance was in his 2016 thriller “The Oath.”
“Baltasar is an amazing actor and I’ve tried to get him onscreen for quite some time, but he’s always very, very busy!” quipped Baldvin Z.
“In Dark Ocean,” penned by rising screenwriter Tryggvi Haraldsson, Kormákur will play the charismatic captain of a fishing trawler in the North Atlantic, just boarded by young deckhand Hákon (19).
The latter takes on the job to provide for his pregnant girlfriend, but the sea soon turns into a nightmare after a crewmate commits suicide and the captain refuses to return to shore. As Hákon fights seasickness, and the crew’s bullying, he starts to lose it, until a life-threatening accident triggers a shift. “Dark Ocean is a claustrophobic and visceral film about the cost of survival in a hyper-masculine world, and the emotional toll of a culture that teaches boys never to cry, even when the sea takes one of their own,” reads the synopsis.
Thorvaldur Kristjansson, Þorsteinn Bachmann
“This will be the most intense film I’ve ever made. I want to throw you on the vessel and only after an hour and a half will you be able to breath,” says Baldvin Z, credited for the realistic hard-hitting dramas “Life in a Fishbowl” (Iceland’s entry for the 2015 Oscars) and 2018 Toronto-selected “Let Me Fall.”
The helmer says two things triggered his original idea. First a news article, read in 2015. “20 years earlier, a group of fishermen had gone ashore to dig out people buried alive by an avalanche. After this traumatic experience, they went straight back at sea, and stayed for a month. They were forbidden to talk about it, nor express their feelings. It’s only two decades later that they were able to openly discuss this, asking for mental support.”
“I started thinking of my film ‘Let Me Fall’ which deals with trauma inflicted to women by men. I thought why do men do these things?”
“Then #MeToo happened, and finally toxic masculinity was tackled. I realised that I had probably also been affected by toxic masculinity without even been aware. That was the key for me to dig into this subject,” says Baldvin Z who then approached rising writing talent Haraldsson. “Being from a younger generation, where men are closer to their feelings, contrary to my or even my father’s generation, I felt he would know better how to capture what being a man is than I do or my father did.”
To play the group of strong-headed fishermen – “those are our soldiers, our heroes in Iceland” – Baldvin Z who is still casting for the main role of Hákon, saying he wanted “the biggest male actors in Iceland, and my favourite ones. We spoke to Baltasar, Ólafur Darri, Þorsteinn, Thorvaldur, telling them which character they would play. They all understand the project and love the script.”
Kormákur confirms. “I really liked Baldvin’s script and was pleasantly surprised that he reached out to me. It is an interesting take on male relationships in a hostile environment. The role is also something that I feel is well-suited for me so I decided why not? So I am excited to embark on this with Baldvin and his team.”
The next big challenge, says Baldvin Z, will be to find a real vessel as main set backdrop. Pending financing, shooting is slated for fall 2026 between Iceland and Canada where parts of the story unfold.
Canada’s Christina Hæbler of Terminal City Pictures serves as co-producer. At this week’s New Nordic Films, Baldvin Z and Arngrímsson will start looking for co-production, financing and distribution partners for the $5.2 million project.
Film Division
“Dark Ocean” will be the first title coming out of the newly-established film division of Glassriver, one of Iceland’s top purveyors of high-quality premium TV drama such as “Black Sands,” sold by All3 Media to multiple territories including the U.S., U.K. and France.
“With the launch of Glassriver’s film division, we have the opportunity to tell bold, emotionally raw stories that resonate far beyond Iceland’s borders. Our goal is to create cinematic experiences that are as intimate as they are epic, grounded in truth, but made for the world stage with global partners,” said co-owner Baldvin Z who intends to produce one film per year. Next up is a project penned by “Black Sands” writer Elias Kofoed Hansen.
New Nordic Films runs until Aug. 22, parallel to the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund.
variety.com
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