THE DEEP

EEN FILM VAN

BALTASAR KORMÁKUR

WILD BUNCH WILLEMSSTRAAT 24B – 1015 JD – AMSTERDAM WWW.WILDBUNCH.NL [email protected] WILDBUNCHblx THE DEEP – BALTASAR KORMÁKUR

PROJECT SUMMARY

EEN PRODUCTIE VAN , FILMHUSET AS TAAL IJSLANDS LENGTE 95 MINUTEN ORIGINELE TITEL DJUPID GENRE DRAMA LAND VAN HERKOMST IJSLAND FILMMAKER BALTASAR KORMÁKUR HOOFDROLLEN ÓLAFUR DARRI ÓLAFSSON, JÓHANN G. JÓHANNSSON, BJÖRN THORS RELEASEDATUM 25 APRIL 2013 FESTIVALS TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILMFESTIVAL – SPECIAL PRESENTATION

KIJKWIJZER

SYNOPSIS Als op een koude nacht in 1984 een vissersboot met zijn gehele bemanning aan boord zinkt, is er slechts één iemand die de schipbreuk op miraculeuze wijze weet te overleven. Het is wetenschappelijk onverklaarbaar aangezien Gulli zes uur in het ijskoude water heeft gelegen. Terwijl zijn bovennatuurlijke wil om te overleven hem tot nationale held van IJsland heeft gebombardeerd, herinnert Gulli de zwarte nacht als het moment waarop hij zijn vrienden en collega’s verloor.

Gebaseerd op een waargebeurd verhaal.

CAST GULLI ÓLAFUR DARRI ÓLAFSSON PALLI JÓHANN G. JÓHANNSSON HALLA PORBJÖRG HELGA PORGILSDÓTTIR GULLI’S FATHER THEODÓR JÚLÍUSSON GULLI’S MOTHER MARÍA SIGURDARDÓTTIR HANNES BJÖRN THORS LÁRUS PRÖSTUR LEÓ GUNNARSSON ERLINGUR GUDJÓN PEDERSEN RAGGI WALTER GRÍMSSON JÓN STEFÁN HALLUR STEFÁNSON

CREW DIRECTOR BALTASAR KORMÁKUR SCREENPLAY BALTASAR KORMÁKUR JÓN ATLI JÓNASSON PRODUCER BALTASAR KORMÁKUR AGNES JOHANSEN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LILJA PÁLMADÓTTIR DAVID LINDE CINEMATOGRAHER BERGSTEINN BJÖRGÚLFSSON EDITOR SVERRIR KRISTJÁNSSON ELÍSABET RONALDSDÓTTIR SOUND KJARTAN KJARTÁNSSON INGVAR LUNDBERG PRODUCTION DESIGNER ATLI GEIR GRÉTARSSON

THE DEEP – BALTASAR KORMÁKUR

THE DEEP - DIRECTOR’S NOTES

I was just a teenager when this actually happened. Like everyone else in our small country I felt for all the people of the Westmann Islands who again had lost men at sea, but I was also fascinated by the news on the sole survivor. Who was this man? What was he made of? There were articles in the papers telling that scientists were studying him thoroughly as some kind of a phenomenon.

They named him the seal-man, referring to his body fat, which they believed had kept him alive in the sea. The images of this unusual man have stayed with me. He was a big guy with curly hair, but he was young, only 22 years old and he had a strange kind of seriousness about him, silent and shy. Not necessarily your stereo-typical hero, but still someone who had beat the odds. Over the years I’ve sometimes thought of this guy and wondered about his 5-6 hour swim in the cold ocean and the determination and lust for life that must have pushed him through it, as well as the long walk over the lava field when he had washed ashore.

When earlier this year, I heard about the stage play by Jon Atli Jonasson based on these events, I was intrigued. But I wasn´t prepared to be blown away like I ended up being. It was not just the really good stage-play and the brilliant performance of my good friend Ingvar Sigurdsson, but the images all came back to me and I instantly felt that I would simply have to bring this to film.

More than 25 years have passed since the event and obviously I now have a broader perspective on the overall scene.

- The Westmann Islands community, which mainly is based on fisheries, is one of many similar small communities around and of course in many other countries around the globe.

- In such communities every person makes a difference.

- When a group of men goes out to sea (or to war or to the mines in some cases), the ones who are left behind realize the danger and silently hope that they will return safely. This affects their everyday lives. But it also makes them appreciate the gift of life and hope.

- The story of the young couple with their two sons (Halla and Palli) is the story of so many other young couples in a similar position. Now when I have children of my own, this is something I can easily relate to.

- How does one react, when faced with almost unbeatable odds? - In the case of the protagonist he somehow stays calm. He swims on without panicking. He must realize how slim his options are, but he stays calm.

- What goes on inside someone’s head when he thinks his days are numbered? - In the case of the protagonist, he regrets having unfinished businesses. Why didn´t he sum up courage to express his feelings to the one who has held his heart for so long? Why did he forget to pay the 25 Euros he owed at the convenience store? If he wouldn´t make it back, his old mother would have to pay it for him.

I would like to portray the everyday life of the of the people of the fishing communities and the danger that lurks behind the corner. The Icelandic fishermen have made it possible for our people to survive in this harsh country for centuries. From my point of view, the story of GULLI is the story of all those heroes that have died at sea.

THE DEEP – BALTASAR KORMÁKUR

Mies van Rohe has been quoted on “God is in the details”. I would like to focus on the simple things because I think it’s more powerful when dealing with big subjects, such as “human strength” and power of nature.

I don’t really focus on the super-human rescue of the protagonist, but rather his inner dialogue and I try to understand what elements helped him through this ordeal, his calm mind and determination as well as the thoughts that he had unfinished business to do.

I would like this film to be about things that often go about unnoticed. Issues that we sometimes out of arrogance feel are not that important. For a nation that has been riding high on a wave of a superiority complex for some years and now fights not to surrender to the opposite, an inferiority complex, it is really important to get our heads straight, face who we really are, where we come from, where we are heading and that we realize who the real heroes of our society are.

As for the visuals, I want the film to be visually strong. This is not a character driven film, unlike most of my other films. And because the characters are low key everyday people and the village is just another fishing village, I would like the visuals be really detailed and strong.

Baltasar Kormákur

THE DEEP – BALTASAR KORMÁKUR

FILMPGRAPHY BALTASAR KORMÁKUR

Baltasar Kormákur was born in Reykjavík. He studied drama at Iceland’s National Academy of Fine Arts, and has worked extensively as an actor, producer and director in theatre and film. His feature films as director include 101 REYKJAVÍK, which won the Discovery Award at the Festival, THE SEA, , , CONTRABAND and THE DEEP.

2012 THE DEEP 2012 CONTRABAND 2010 INHALE 2008 WHITE NIGHT WEDDING 2006 JAR CITY 2005 2002 THE SEA 2000 101 REYKJAVÍK