Bjarki Valur Aðalsteinsson - Screenwriting and Directing

The film is about a woman who gets help from her friend to get as far away as possible from her abusive husband. The film takes place around the year 1400, and they need to go outside their comfort zone in order to survive in Icelandic nature.

What is the first movie experience you remember?

The first movie experience I remember was when I was about 5 years old. My mom was at the hairdresser getting her hair dyed. She had tin foil in her hair and my dad compared her to the alien from "Predator" (1987). Even though I was only 5 years old, my dad was really surprised that I hadn't seen the movie yet. When we got home, my dad rummaged through our DVD box and found a copy of "Predator" and put it in the DVD player. Since then, I've watched "Predator" well over 15 times, and every time it comes on the screen, I think of my mom... Even though she looked NOTHING like the alien.

What fascinates you about filmmaking?

What fascinates me most about filmmaking is how unique each person is in the way he/she tells stories. You could give 100 directors the exact same script, but you'd get 100 unique films. You could give Terrence Malick and Roland Emmerich the same script and there would be exactly 0 things the same about the films, surely the main thing that would change is that Malick would make a good film and Emmerich a bad one.

Why did you choose your department?

I am a graduate of a drama course in FG. I have a little experience on stage and a little in front of the camera, but every time I participated in a show or a short film, it was always the things that happened behind the camera that fascinated me the most. That's why I decided to go to the Screenwriting and Directing department.

Did anything in particular surprise you during your studies?

How many friends I made. Right before school started, I had a panic attack at work in front of a client because I was so nervous I wouldn't make any friends. Today it is almost 2 years since this incident happened and I have never had so many friends as I do now. There is almost no one in this class that I don't care about, and I look forward to working with them in the future.

And what does the future look like?

If I can dream, the future is where Anya Taylor-Joy and I are married and KUKL keeps saying "No Bjarki, you're way, way too awesome for us to charge for all this equipment, do it man, just take it" and then I give everyone at  KUKL a high-five and walk out with sunglasses on and a hot dog and Pepsi-max in my hands.