Best Icelandic documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from Iceland.
Screaming Masterpiece (2005)
Screaming Masterpiece (2005)
A documentary about the bustling Icelandic musical scene. This documentary covers some of Iceland's most talented and well-known musicians.
Heima (2007)
Heima (2007)
Ethereal post-rock pioneers Sigur Rós play a string of impromptu gigs in their native Iceland after finishing a world tour in 2006. As they travel through the country, the band visits a wide variety of venues, from a large outdoor festival to a coffee shop.
Inside Björk (2003)
Inside Björk (2003)
Following the career of Björk, this documentary looks at her early musical career with local icelandic bands, her acclaimed stint in The Sugarcubes, and her massive success as a free-spirited solo artist.
Island Songs (2017)
Island Songs (2017)
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.
The Sugarcubes: Live Zabor (2006)
The Sugarcubes: Live Zabor (2006)
Live concert footage of The Sugarcubes from 1988 and 1989, mixed with short interview segments.
Ten (2022)
Ten (2022)
Tíu is a glorious journey through sight and sound into the world of the multi-platinum Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, as they commemorate the 10th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut album My Head Is An Animal.
Rock in Reykjavik (1982)
Rock in Reykjavik (1982)
Rokk í Reykjavík (Rock in Reykjavik) gives a thorough overview of the powerful and expanding rock scene in Iceland. Most of the film consists of performances by a wide variety of rock-groups in various clubs in Reykjavik in 1981-82. There are also interviews with members of the groups representing different views on such features of the rock scene as sex, drugs and politics. 19 groups appear in the film.
Pop in Reykjavik (1998)
Pop in Reykjavik (1998)
Popp í Reykjavík (Pop in Reykjavik) is a film about the vibrant Icelandic music culture of the late '90s. It was released in 1998 and features interviews and concert footage of promising Icelandic bands like Gusgus, Bellatrix, Maus, Ensími, Quarashi, Botnleðja and Sigur Rós.
The Atlantic (1995)
The Atlantic (1995)
Spectacular documentary, shot on and around Atlantic Islands from Iceland to South Georgia.
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (2008)
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (2008)
Raquela is a transsexual, or lady boy, from the Philippines, who dreams of escaping the streets of Cebu City for a fairy tale life in Paris. In order to make her dreams come true, she turns from prostitution toward the more lucrative business of Internet porn. Her success as a porn star brings new friends, including Valerie, a lady boy in Iceland, and Michael, the owner of the website Raquela works for. Valerie helps Raquela get as far as Iceland. From there, Michael offers her a rendezvous in Paris. Will Paris be everything she dreamed of? And will Michael turn out to be her Prince Charming?
A Song Called Hate (2021)
A Song Called Hate (2021)
The pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist, BDSM-provocative, techno-punk performance art ensemble Hatari unsurprisingly drew attention to themselves with their performance at the Icelandic qualifiers for the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so that they won and therefore were allowed to perform at the main event in Tel Aviv. But what now? Should they boycott the event, swallow their idealism, or use their airtime to criticise the host country for their illegal occupation of Palestine? The Icelandic director Anna Hildur joins the boys in the band all the way to the fateful final.
Daði og Gagnamagnið (2021)
Daði og Gagnamagnið (2021)
A two-part documentary about Daði & Gagnamagnið, introducing viewers to the band’s story since first taking part in the Icelandic national competition for Eurovision in 2017.
The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole (2020)
The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole (2020)
Part road movie, part musical, part serious inquiry into the caverns of the mind. Þriðji pólinn follows Anna Tara Edwards, an Icelander raised in Nepal, and legendary musician Högni Egilsson, as they journey to Anna’s childhood home in the mountain jungles to explore the afflictions and superpowers that come with bipolar disorder.
The Last Autumn (2020)
The Last Autumn (2020)
If the world has an edge, then it is almost certainly visible from Iceland. On the outermost cape, beyond which there is only the inhospitable Arctic Ocean, lies a farm belonging to Úlfar and his wife. This autumn will be the last time their grandchildren come from the city to drive the sheep back down from the hills. An almost tangible cinematic fabric that weaves a tale of an abandoned place where the mist clings to the steel-blue surface of the sea and where the occasional human visitor is sometimes welcome.
Cow (2021)
Cow (2021)
Margrét, a middle-aged office worker, wakes to see cows walking around downtown Reykjavík. When she arrives at her office, she realizes that she’s the only one who can see them. Chaos ensues when a cow appears in the cafeteria.
Last Days of the Arctic (2011)
Last Days of the Arctic (2011)
Ragnar Alexsson, a.k.a. RAX, is among the most celebrated photographers in the world. His series Faces of the North are a living document of the dying cultures of the far northern reaches of the planet. His photo essays of farmers and fishermen in Icleand, and of the great hunters of Greenland give an amazing insight into everyday life of people who struggle a daily battle with the Arctic nature. A celebration of the photographer and his subjects, Last Days of the Arctic is an elegy for a disappearing landscape and the people who inhabit it.
Gnarr (2010)
Gnarr (2010)
A few years ago when the developed world was booming the bankers and stockbrokers thought the gravy train would never end. Now we all know what came next. The same thing that always comes next - Banking collapse, false wars, and recession. No country epitomized this rise and fall better than Iceland. Amongst the chaos politics staggered on and an election of new leaders began. For the jaded people whose lives had been changed so drastically, something needed to be done. Against this backdrop the Idea of The Best Party was born. It started out as a joke inside the head of Iceland's most cynical and most controversial comedian Jon Gnarr. The Idea was to poke fun at the establishment that had failed so spectacularly. Parody the arrogance of the 'left' 'right' parties and their false morality, by showing how ridiculous they all were. By Election Day something incredible was about to happen.
Elephant Whisperer (2012)
Elephant Whisperer (2012)
Sangduen Chailert, or Lek, as she is generally known, has already rescued over 200 elephants. She has dedicated her life to saving the Asian elephant and founded a special camp, The Elephant Nature Park to protect them. We follow this winner of Time Magazine’s “Asian Hero of the Year” Award in her work. Lek is on a mission to save the Asian elephant in her native Thailand. This film looks at the plight of the Asian elephant, as it goes from being a widely used domestic animal, to becoming a burden on modernizing communities. With experts predicting its extinction within four decades, Lek’s work is needed now more than ever and she has gathered a large group of supporters and volunteers in her quest for a better future for the Asian elephant. This moving film demonstrates Lek’s natural understanding of and rapport with these huge animals and will stir the viewers emotions as it highlights the often desperate state some elephants are kept in.
Larger than Life (2006)
Larger than Life (2006)
The story of an Icelandic power lifter, Jón Páll Sigmarsson who was four times the World's Strongest Man.
The Far Traveller (2020)
The Far Traveller (2020)
When she died around 1050 AD, a littleknown Viking explorer had become the most traveled woman of the Middle Ages. She had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean eight times and her travels extended from Iceland to Greenland, North America, Scandinavia, the British Isles, through Europe, and all the way to the Vatican in Rome. She was rescued by Leif Erikson from the shipwreck that earned him the nickname Leif the Lucky. Her name was Gudrídur Thorbjarnardóttir, aka the Far Traveller.
Lobster Soup (2020)
Lobster Soup (2020)
Every morning Krilli prepares the myriad ingredients required to make the lobster soup at the Bryggjan café, a tiny eatery in Iceland’s dullest town. His wife helps him in the kitchen and yearns to return to Rejkyavik. In the café, Krilli’s brother Alli sits with the old fishermen, the last boxer in Iceland and the translator of Don Quixote into Icelandic. Every day they find a new answer to the world’s problems. Once a month the neighbours meet at the Bryggjan café to remember those who died in Grindavik and pronounce their names. Four crazy musicians play jazz. A few lost tourists turn up at the fishing harbour and are captivated by the atmosphere in the café. Real people, they think. A real place. On the other side of the mountain is the Blue Lagoon, the island’s great attraction. People from all over the world come in fascination to see the volcanoes, the ice and the genesis of the Earth.
Last Stop (2002)
Last Stop (2002)
An Icelandic documentary about the people that work, and hang around Hlemmur, the iconic Reykjavik bus stop. The film follows homeless people, people with disabilities, and a bus driver. A unique view in to their lives, and the view they have on the world. Soundtrack by Sigur Rós.
The Show of Shows: 100 Years of Vaudeville, Circuses and Carnivals (2015)
The Show of Shows: 100 Years of Vaudeville, Circuses and Carnivals (2015)
This film tells the story of itinerant circus performers, cabaret acts and fairground attractions, showing rarities and never-before seen footage of fairgrounds, circus entertainment, freak shows, variety performances, music hall and seaside entertainment, chronicled from the 19th and 20th century. We will see early shows that wowed the world and home movies of some of the greatest circus families. Director Benedikt Erlingsson takes us back to the days when the most outlandish, skillful and breathtaking acts traveled the world. This rich visual archive has been created with exclusive access to The University of Sheffield’s National Fairground Archive and is accompanied by an epic new score by Georg Holm and Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós, in collaboration with Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Kjartan Dagur Holm.
Half Elf (2020)
Half Elf (2020)
A lighthouse keeper prepares his earthly funeral while trying to reconnect with his inner elf. Hulda and Trausti have shared a roof on the Icelandic coast for over seventy years. Her love of books is matched by his love of stones. When he tells her he wants to change his name to Elf she warns him that the family will reject him. Now, as his one hundredth birthday nears and Trausti senses the hand of death upon him, he is searching for an elf’s coffin…
Partiledaren som klev ut ur kylan (2021)
Partiledaren som klev ut ur kylan (2021)
Håkan Juholt came from the reserve bench and became captain of the whole team. A high-stakes bet that hardly anyone had dared to bet on. But after only 303 days, Håkan Juholt's time as party leader for the Social Democrats was over.
Electronica Reykjavik (2008)
Electronica Reykjavik (2008)
Electronica Reykjavik traces the history of the electronic music scene in Iceland's capital from the early 90's until today. The Film deeply reflects a music genre that the general public knows little about but nearly everyone has participated in, one way or the other. The electronic music scene is on the edge, free from commercial values.
Birth of an Island (1964)
Birth of an Island (1964)
A short documentary showing the formation of an island from lava and other volcanic activity.
Fire on Heimaey (1990)
Fire on Heimaey (1990)
Beautiful documentary by Osvaldur Knudsen about the eruption on Heimaey in the Vestmann Islands in 1973 (South of Iceland). The eruption destroyed some 30% of the town's houses and lasted for more than 5 months. Nice narration like in the old days and some nice sound(track) by Magnus Bl. Johannsson.
The Ring Road (1985)
The Ring Road (1985)
Experimental film of a trip around Iceland, filmed on the circular highway with a wide angle lens camera registering one frame every 12 seconds.
Band (2022)
Band (2022)
Icelandic performance art meets Spinal Tap in this wickedly fun look at women behaving creatively. Three bandmates, Álfrún, Saga and Hrefna, of The Post Performance Blues Band, are tired of playing to audiences of five at their gigs and getting paid in beer. Each of them is staring down 40 and exhausting themselves juggling motherhood and their artistic pursuits. They decide to give themselves one year to either become popstars or quit the band for good. What follows is a make-it-or-break-it story of a band that's not really a band, pursuing a goal that is not actually attainable. Band member and filmmaker Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir puts herself, along with age and gender bias, on stage in this docu-parable about talented but not teenaged women trying to be successful in a youth-obsessed, overnight-success industry. Band allows gifted artists to perform the resilience and sisterhood that truly exists between life's messes, rejections and triumphs.