Exclusive: Production services in Iceland have prompted a creative development wave, according to major local industry numbers such as to cut Star ólafur Darri ólafsson.
It is primarily known for entertainment for housing, American production is large like HBO's True Investigations: Night Country And Christopher Nolan science fiction Between the starsIceland came out of the shadows of its past as a car advertisement site to become an important player in European TV production. At the same time, its local sector has grown similarly with the local networks, the networks you buy, and the likes of Netflix and CBS investment.
Olafon, who starred in the Baltasar Cormarmor series Besieged And Apple TV+ Drama to cutI have played production abroad and the country favorable to the country has played a major role in this situation. He just photographed the competition competition Reykavik fusionCuban crime drama series, for the ACT4 local network, France ARTE and common products for wild products.
“We shot it for about 900,000 euros [$1M] “Coming from Iceland, it should make the resources go at their amazing limbs, the episode that everyone outside Iceland feels is ridiculous. This also means that we have equipment that may not be here if we do not have these large products.”
Oldon added that Iceland and the United States have a “good symbiotic relationship”, with the American demand that led to the development of local production infrastructure that now drives local development and helps text programming better. “In other countries, he did not do it,” he said. “In Canada or the United Kingdom, it takes it only and you are doing American projects or you cannot compete with money.”
We talked to many producers with similar views of this article. Andrei Amson, CEO of the Icelandic producer Glassriver, was one. He said: “In all ears, we have been lucky because we have the good foundations of production services – we have all infrastructure because we have been serving Hollywood since then James Bond It came here in 1984 [for A View to a Kill]. We can now take this knowledge and use it for Icelandic content. ”
James Bond feature is a murder view “filmed in Iceland in 1984
United Artists/Coude Evertt
Glassriver has emerged as a major local product since the participating founders have presented a real drama for the crime issue For Netflix in 2014, it is one of the few companies that still does not multiply as a production services company or commercial and non -strained advertising maker.
The company is behind the proverbs As long as we liveChampionship Mr. RobotMartin Wolstrom and its sale internationally by ECCHO rights, and excitement Black sandHe participated in its production with many European partners. In recent months, we revealed that it offers offers like Reykavrick Neuer In favor of sloinn signs, a series of the Lilja Sigurdardtir crime series, Trilogy, and statementAn exciting movie based on a real terrorist attack in Iceland at all, which owns France -based Wild Bunch TV on the plane. Elsewhere, a wrapped production was shot on its production with the Portuguese SPI, Cool. It is also made deny With Will participated in the production of the text series deny with to cut Executive producer Nicholas Winsk and his invention studios, and participating international participants specialist Mark Lorbert in the art of participation.
“after Case“He was the first to get a MG from an international distributor, and we saw that there was a way forward for Icelandic content to obtain international financing,” Amrson said, with this mentality, we founded Glassriver with the only purpose of making the Icelandic content of the internationally wandering. “
The founders participating in Glassriver photographed the Netflix “Case” drama
Netflix
The effect of tax collapse
The Olsberg SPI report, commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Commercial Affairs in Iceland in 2024, showed that the country's screen industry has become a “great success story” thanks to products such as production such as carry and MonsterWith major international projects such as True Investigations: Night Countryand North and Between the stars All shooting in the country.
After evaluating the period 2019-2022, the report indicated that there was “ongoing growth” in the number of projects that benefit from the incentive production of Iceland, which provides TV programs and films with a 35 % discount for production that is spent at least ISK350m ($ 2.75 million) in the country. The total value distributed was “division equally” between local and foreign products. Looking at the boom in development and participation in participation in Iceland, it will not be surprising to see this advice in favor of local developments.
Christine þórðarson, SVP of movies and television in the producer and services of Trueenort, was head of the body of the Icelandic producers Seick when tax deduction was increased from 25 % to 35 % in 2022. Years “.
“Tax deduction has definitely made a major change, as we expected when we got a change. However, with licensing fees from a television station, you have approximately 50 % of secured financing from Iceland.” In the first place, this is related to a text from five to six episodes with budgets of about 5 million euros.
Since þórðarson joined Trueenorth ten years ago to push it beyond production services and original copies, the company has made offers like Rúv Original Fallala murdersWhich was sold to the BBC from other things, and the skyshowtime drama Darkness With CBS Studios International, he is now a major investor in an Icelandic participation.
“We have made Darkness In the English language, although we mostly used the Icelandic actors, and this allowed us to double our budget because CBS International was ready to pay the price of a curse to the English language, “þórðarson said:” This is a way to make offers with higher budgets, but if we continue in an Icelandic, we have a glass ceiling. ”
Next to Tahnworth is Death on the island (Nicknamed The diplomat diesHe participated in production with Blink49 studios from Canada and based on a book from the former Icelandic first lady Elize Reed, which we told you about the first in April. Reykavik: A crime storyAnd at the same time, it depends on a book from Darkness Scribe Ragnar Jónasson and former Icelandic Prime Minister Catherine Jakobsdótir. It is produced for Síminn with Dimma Pictures, a new car from Jónasson and former Stampeed Ventures President Jean -Paul Sarny that we revealed last week.
LR: Ragnar Jónasson, Anna Friel and John-Paul Sarni
Tatiana Halzliti
The truth Marcela Star Anna Friel is starring and producing Exec to produce another coming show, limited chain The girl who diedAnother example is that the international funds entering the Icelandic regime.
Of course, the challenge facing each local production sector is the balance of a combination of content in the English language that international investors demand with a healthy amount of text programming in the local language and reflects local culture and values. Olafsson has great expectations that Iceland can achieve this.
He said: “We are talking only 400,000 people talking, but it seems that people are interested in stories from Iceland, which is an incredible value, and there is no better way to keep a language alive rather than registering the people who talk to it.” “We had a lot of good intentions from all over Europe, and Reykavik fusion It will not be present without ARTE and Wild Sheep, a US -based company. There are common productions. “
