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INDUSTRY DAYS 2026 The Nordic House Sæmundargata 11, 102, Reykjavík

Reykjavík International Film Festival

Háskólabíó Hagatorg, 107 Reykjavík

24.09.–04.10.26

RIFF INDUSTRY DAYS HRÖNN MARINÓSDÓTTIR FOUNDER & FESTIVAL DIRECTOR Hrönn Marinósdóttir is the Director of the Reykjavík International Film Festival, which she has led since its inception, shaping it into one of Iceland’s most prominent cultural events. Before establishing RIFF, she worked as a journalist in Iceland and as a news correspondent in Berlin. A graduate in Political Science, she frequently lectures on cinema and film culture, and remains a driving force in promoting international exchange and dialogue through film in Iceland.

FRÉDÉRIC BOYER PROGRAM DIRECTOR Frédéric Boyer is a festival programmer, artistic director, and champion of global cinema. He leads RIFF’s programming while also serving as Artistic Director of the Tribeca Film Festival and Les Arcs European Film Festival. Formerly at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Boyer has nurtured filmmakers from Europe, the US, the UK, Australia, and Scandinavia. His love of cinema began at the French Cinémathèque and was shaped by French New Wave masterclasses at the Sorbonne. He also founded Videosphere, Europe’s largest arthouse video store, cementing his reputation as a passionate advocate for daring, original voices in film.

INDUSTRY DAYS TEAM Maja Anita Jankowska

Salvör Bergmann

Evelina Richter

graphic design: Monika Benešová

PROGRAM

WELCOME Welcome to RIFF Industry Days 2026. We are delighted to welcome you to RIFF 2026 — whether you are local or international, a returning friend or a first-timer, whether you work in front of or behind the camera, in documentaries or fiction. Each year, RIFF brings together professionals from across the globe and all branches of the film industry, and we are proud to present to you this year’s Industry Program. This year, the program moves between the creative process and the structures that make filmmaking possible. Panels look at co-production across small markets, the international life of a film, and the uneasy relationship between cinema, propaganda and misinformation. Masterclasses open up the working methods of filmmakers and producers across documentary, fiction and action cinema, while RIFF Talks and the Nordic Voices Think Tank create space for more personal, candid perspectives from people working inside the industry today. New projects sit at the heart of the programme. The Work in Progress showcase returns with ten films in development presented to invited industry professionals and followed by curated one-to-one meetings. Alongside it, RIFF together with Nuuk International Film Festival launch the first Arctic Script Lab, bringing emerging Nordic and Arctic screenwriters and writer-directors together for development of the scripts of their first or second feature films, and valuable peer exchange. Country in Focus: Portugal also runs through Industry Days as both a creative and industry strand, bringing a strong delegation of Portuguese film professionals to Reykjavík and opening new connections between Atlantic, Nordic and Arctic film cultures. Beyond the core programme, selected screenings become starting points for wider conversations through RIFF’s Impact Talks, exploring gender equality, climate change, tourism, childhood under conflict and the ways cinema can make large political and social questions feel immediate and human.

The core RIFF Industry Days programme takes place from 29 September to 3 October, with selected masterclasses, screenings and conversations beginning on 25 September and continuing throughout the wider festival. Inside this booklet you will find the full programme, participating projects and practical information to help you make the most of Industry Days—and perhaps discover a collaborator, project or idea you did not know you were looking for. RIFF extends sincere thanks to The Nordic House and its staff for hosting our program, with particular gratitude to Sindri Leifsson and Kristmundur Elías Baldvinsson for their invaluable support. We are equally grateful to all of our partners, sponsors and collaborators whose support makes Industry Days possible and helps us welcome our guests, participants and audiences throughout the festival.

CONTENT RIFF TALKS

PANELS & CONVERSATIONS

MASTERCLASSES

ARCTIC SCRIPT LAB 16 NORDIC VOICES THINK TANK

WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP)

IMPACT TALKS

NETWORKING EVENTS

INDUSTRY ACCREDITATION

SPECIAL THANKS

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

RIFF TALKS Wednesday 30 September · 17:00–18:30 · Háskólabíó 3 Inspired by the format of TED Talks, this series features short presentations by emerging filmmakers and creative professionals from Iceland. Each talk brings a personal take on the present and future of cinema. RIFF Talks offer insight and inspiration for students, early-career artists, and experienced guests alike.

SPEAKERS:

Moderator: YORK UNDERWOOD York Underwood is a writer, comedian and actor. Living in Iceland but born in Canada, he’s acted in films in the US, Canada and Iceland, alongside big names such as Eric Roberts and Michael Madsen–as well as playing several characters in the English-language version of the Icelandic animated series Ormhildur the Brave. Writing for the Reykjavík Grapevine, York is no stranger to Icelandic culture, customs and politics, approaching each project with wit, intellect and passion.

GRÍMA IRMUDÓTTIR CREATIVE DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR Gríma Irmudóttir is an Icelandic documentary director based between Reykjavík and Chicago. Working across independent, broadcast and feature documentary, she creates intimate, observational films exploring memory, place, grief and change. Her short Náttúrubönd (2023) screened internationally, while Minningaspor / Memory Traces (2025) won Best Icelandic Short at RIFF 2025 and the Sólveig Anspach Award for Directing in 2026.

GABRÍEL ÓLAFSSON FILM COMPOSER & RECORDING PRODUCER Gabríel Ólafs is an Icelandic composer and producer whose music has been streamed hundreds of millions of times worldwide and released through labels including Decca Records. Alongside his work as a recording artist, he composes and produces music for film, television, and games, including the Berlinale-premiered film Prosecution and the Xbox game Forza Horizon 6. He is also the founder of Reykjavík Orkestra, a recording collective based at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, whose clients and collaborators include Netflix, Blizzard Entertainment, EA Games, and Hans Zimmer.

PROGRAM

SARA RUT CASTING DIRECTOR & DOORWAY CASTING Sara Rut is a casting director with over ten years’ experience casting for stage and screen. Since 2021, she has worked on Icelandic features, series and adverts, as well as international productions including The Flight Attendant, The Damned and The Brick of War. She works closely with directors and producers to find the right actors for each part, with a strong focus on structure, communication and teamwork.

TÓMAS VALGEIRSSON FILM CRITIC Tómas has decades of experience in media production, podcasting and subtitle translation, and has worked as a film critic across Icelandic media. He has been one of the lead developers of Iceland’s film database kvikmyndir.is and has worked for outlets including Vísir, RÚV, Birtíngur and MBL. He has also organized film screenings in Reykjavík for over twenty years and is one of the co-hosts of the podcast Bíófíklar.

HANNA BJÖRK VALSDÓTTIR DOCUMENTARY PRODUCER Hanna Björk is a producer and director specializing in creative documentaries. She has received the Icelandic Film Award EDDAN for Best Documentary three times along with multiple nominations. In 2025, Hanna won the Nordic Documentary Producer Award at Nordisk Panorama. Previously working for Ground Control Productions in Reykjavík, she started Akkeri Films in 2015, with recent titles including The Ground Beneath Our Feet and If Luck Will Come.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

PANELS & CONVERSATIONS Wednesday 30 September · 16:00–17:30 · RÚV Studio A: Upon arrival at RÚV Headquarters in Efstaleiti 1, all guests will be received at the front desk in the lobby and led to Studio A where the panel takes place.

PANELISTS: EINAR LOGI VIGNISSON CEO OF RÚV SALES

This event is generously hosted by RÚV and is free and open to all—no festival pass is required.

LOCAL STORIES, GLOBAL SCREENS: CAN SMALL FILM INDUSTRIES BREAK THROUGH? Streaming was supposed to make the world smaller, opening international audiences to films and series from less dominant languages and smaller production ecosystems. But has the playing field really become more equal? Taking Portugal and Iceland as starting points, this conversation looks at what helps local stories travel: language, financing, public broadcasters, platforms, cultural identity and the international image of a country. Portuguese producer and showrunner Edgar Medina, in conversation with Einar Logi Vignisson of RÚV, will explore whether international visibility depends on becoming more universally accessible or, paradoxically, on becoming even more specific, local and culturally distinctive. They will also ask what role public broadcasters play in sustaining local industries when global platforms remain difficult to access. The discussion will be grounded in a screening of Edgar Medina’s short film Fallen, using it as a concrete starting point for a broader conversation about how Portuguese work travels internationally, what shapes its reception abroad, and what lessons smaller film industries can draw from that experience.

Einar Logi Vignisson is CEO of RÚV Sales, responsible for the commercial revenue of Iceland’s national broadcaster, RÚV. He has more than 25 years of experience across film distribution, marketing, international sales, production and television. After beginning his career in film distribution and later moving into local production, he joined the television sector in 2004. He has worked across numerous film and TV productions and maintains strong connections within the European television industry through his work with the Brussels-based trade association EGTA.

EDGAR MEDINA PRODUCER, ARQUIPÉLAGO FILMES Edgar Medina is a ortuguese producer, screenwriter and showrunner, EDGAR and the founder of Arquipélago Filmes. A gradMEDINA uate of the London Film School, he has worked across independent cinema and television. His credits include the acclaimed series South, Natural Law and Dogpack, the latter selected for Berlinale Series Selects in 2024. He also co-wrote Ivo M. Ferreira’s feature Letters from War, which competed at the Berlinale and earned him a Sophia Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

PROGRAM

SUSAN WENDT

Thursday 1 October · 13:15–14:45 · The Nordic House

MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRUSTNORDISK

FROM FESTIVAL TO AUDIENCE: SALES, DISTRIBUTION AND THE LIFE OF A FILM Finishing a film is one thing—what happens next is another. This session follows the real journey of Amanda Kernell’s new feature Brace Your Heart, represented internationally by TrustNordisk, with Managing Director Susan Wendt offering a behind-the-scenes look at how films travel through festivals, sales and distribution. How are festival strategies decided? What drives sales and distribution choices? Olivier Barbier brings a wider perspective from international sales, while Icelandic producer Tinna Proppé adds the producer’s perspective on navigating co-production, broadcasters and international distribution, connecting the case study to broader industry realities. Moderator: FRÉDÉRIC BOYER

PANELISTS:

Susan Wendt has worked in international film sales since 2000 and is Managing Director of TrustNordisk, one of Europe’s leading sales companies for Scandinavian film and television. Over her career she has worked with both emerging filmmakers and internationally acclaimed directors, and has contributed as an industry expert to programmes including Inside Pictures and ACE.

OLIVIER BARBIER SALES AGENT Olivier Barbier has worked in international sales, acquisitions and co-production for fifteen years, with previous roles at Wild Bunch and mk2 Films. His credits span films including I, Daniel Blake, Shoplifters, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Worst Person in the World and Anatomy of a Fall. In 2024, he co-founded Lucky Number, where he heads acquisitions.

AMANDA KERNELL

TINNA PROPPÉ

WRITER-DIRECTOR

PRODUCER

Amanda Kernell is a Swedish-Sámi writer-director and one of the leading voices in contemporary Nordic cinema. Her feature debut, Sámi Blood (2016), premiered at Venice and received numerous interna© Martin Källqvist tional awards, while Charter (2020) premiered in competition at Sundance and was selected as Sweden’s submission for the Academy Awards. Her third feature, Brace Your Heart (Garrat du váimmu, 2026), was selected for the Platform competition at Toronto International Film Festival.

Tinna Proppé is a producer who has worked in the industry since 2009. Her credits include the TV series Sisterhood (co-commissioned by Síminn and Viaplay, distributed worldwide by NBC Universal), the feature Operation Napoleon (co-produced with Germany’s ZDF, distributed by Beta Film and by Magnolia in the US), and the series The Minister and Stella Blómkvist. Her projects have earned the NFTVF Script Award at Gothenburg, Best Pitch at C21, Best TV Series at Series Mania, and multiple Edda Awards.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

PANELS & CONVERSATIONS Thursday 1 October · 15:15–16:45 · The Nordic House

PANELISTS:

FILM AS A WEAPON

SUSAN WENDT

In a media landscape increasingly shaped by misinformation, propaganda and the strategic use of images, cinema occupies an uneasy position. Film can reinforce dominant narratives, simplify complex realities or become part of political messaging—but it can also challenge misinformation, preserve memory and create space for perspectives that are otherwise pushed aside. Bringing together filmmakers, producers, broadcasters and distributors, this panel will look at how politically charged stories are created, supported and circulated. What responsibilities come with telling stories about conflict, social rupture or contested histories? How do funding, commissioning, distribution and audience expectations shape the way those stories are told? And when images are already being used as tools of persuasion, can cinema offer something slower, more complex and more accountable?

MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRUSTNORDISK Susan Wendt has worked in international film sales since 2000, beginning at Nordisk Film International Sales before joining Zentropa’s sales arm Trust in 2008. Following the merger that created TrustNordisk, she became Managing Director of one of Europe’s leading sales companies for Scandinavian feature films and television series. TrustNordisk represents both emerging Nordic filmmakers and internationally acclaimed directors including Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Anders Thomas Jensen and Nicolaj Arcel. Wendt has also contributed as an industry expert to Inside Pictures and ACE and has been active within Europa International.

Moderator: ÞORFINNUR ÓMARSSON Þorfinnur Ómarsson has worked in the field of media and film industry for more than 35 years. Educated in France, he was a TV journalist and a film critic before becoming the Director of the Icelandic Film Centre for seven years. Since 2011, Þorfinnur has worked as a media and communication advisor for several international organisations in Paris and Brussel, currently for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He has also served as board member of the Nordic Film & TV Fund, and been a jury member at several international film festivals.

RÉMI BURAH ARTE FRANCE CINÉMA / ARTE COFINOVA After working as a banker in the audiovisual sector in London and Paris, Rémi Burah joined Haut et Court as a partner, Managing Director and CEO of its communication agency, where he worked for eight years. He joined ARTE in 2001 and is currently CEO of its cinema co-production branch and ARTE Cofinova, a film financing company he initiated in 2004. He is also President of the ARTE Kino Endowment Fund, established in 2016 to organise the ArteKinoFestival.

PROGRAM

ERIK HEMMENDORFF PRODUCER, PLATTFORM PRODUKTION Erik Hemmendorff is a Swedish producer and CEO of Plattform Produktion, which he co-founded with director Ruben Östlund in 2002. Their long-running collaboration includes Palme d’Or winners The Square and Triangle of Sadness, both also Academy Award-nominated. He is currently producing Östlund’s The Entertainment System Is Down, their most ambitious production to date. Hemmendorff’s credits also include Fantastic Machine, Pleasure and Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the European Film Academy.

BALTASAR KORMÁKUR FILM DIRECTOR, CEO, RVK STUDIOS Baltasar Kormákur is an acclaimed Icelandic film director, producer and actor, best known for Hollywood films like Everest and 2 Guns, alongside hit series like Trapped and Katla. As the founder and CEO of RVK Studios, he has transformed Iceland into a global filmmaking hub. His work seamlessly blends Hollywood scale with gritty, atmospheric Nordic storytelling. Baltasar remains a driving force in international cinema, bridging the gap between local talent and major global entertainment platforms.

HRAFNHILDUR GUNNARSDÓTTIR

women’s history and LGBTQ+ rights. She holds a BFA in filmmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute and has worked extensively in documentary film and television. She is the founder and owner of Krumma Films. Her films include the acclaimed five-part series People Like That and The Vasulka Effect (2019). She is also a producer of the award-winning documentary The Day Iceland Stood Still (2024), which tells the story of Iceland’s historic 1975 Women’s Day Off. Gunnarsdóttir has received several awards for her work, including Icelandic Edda Awards.

ELFA GYLFADÓTTIR MEDIA SPECIALIST, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE ICELANDIC MEDIA COMMISSION Elfa Ýr Gylfadóttir is Director General of the Icelandic Media Commission, a position she has held since 2011, and has also served as a University Lecturer at Háskóli Íslands since 1998. Trained as a media specialist with postgraduate studies at the University of Kent and Georgetown University, she has worked on media policy and communication for over two decades, including six years at the Ministry of Education and Culture and an appointment to the National Security Council’s Working Group on Information Disorder.

FILMMAKER, FOUNDER OF KRUMMA FILMS Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir is an Icelandic filmmaker, cinematographer, producer and activist whose work has largely focused on social issues,

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

PANELS & CONVERSATIONS Friday 2 October · 15:00–16:30 · The Nordic House

PANELISTS:

CO-PRODUCING ACROSS DIFFERENCE: ICELAND, PORTUGAL, AND THE LOGIC OF SMALL MARKETS

EDGAR MEDINA PRODUCER, ARQUIPÉLAGO FILMES

Small film industries increasingly rely on co-production, public funding and production incentives to attract investment and make ambitious projects possible. But what remains once an international production leaves? Taking Iceland and Portugal as starting points, this panel looks beyond headline investment figures to ask whether rebates and co-production structures translate into sustainable careers, stronger local companies, skilled crews and greater opportunities for locally originated films. Bringing together film institutions and independent producers, the discussion will compare policy ambitions with realities on the ground and ask how success in a small production ecosystem should ultimately be measured. Moderator: ÞORFINNUR ÓMARSSON

Edgar Medina is a Portuguese producer, screenwriter and showrunner, and the founder of Arquipélago Filmes. A graduate of the London Film School, he has worked across independent cinema and television. His credits include the acclaimed series South, Natural Law and Dogpack, the latter selected for Berlinale Series Selects in 2024. He also co-wrote Ivo M. Ferreira’s feature Letters from War, which competed at the Berlinale and earned him a Sophia Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

MANUEL CLARO VICE-PRESIDENT, PORTUGUESE FILM INSTITUTE Manuel Claro is Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Portugal’s national film agency, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual (ICA), appointed in August 2025. With over 20 years of experience in the audiovisual and cultural sectors, he has held senior roles across public institutions, European programmes and the private industry. His previous positions include Film Commissioner of the Portugal Film Commission and Executive Coordinator of Creative Europe Desk Portugal (MEDIA).

PROGRAM

HELGA ARNARDÓTTIR PRODUCER, REPORTER AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

SKARPHÉÐINN GUÐMUNDSSON CEO, SAGAFILM

With nearly two decades as a broadcast journalist covering crime and human stories in Iceland, Helga Arnardóttir has worked as a reporter, host, and investigative journalist for Channel 2 and RÚV, earning recognition for her role in reopening the Guðmundar and Geirfinns case. Over the past five years she has moved into screenwriting and producing, including the award-winning children’s film BIRTA, screened at over 20 festivals worldwide, and is now developing the thriller Disturbed and the crime drama series Tinnitus.

Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson is the CEO of Sagafilm, one of Iceland’s oldest and most active production companies, recently acquired by Skybound Entertainment. With a background as a film and music critic, journalist and longtime Head of TV at RÚV, he brings decades of experience in shaping Iceland’s media landscape. At Sagafilm, he oversees a wide range of scripted and non-scripted projects, including documentaries, short films and animation.

MARTIN SCHLÜTER

ARTE FRANCE CINÉMA / ARTE COFINOVA

RÉMI BURAH HEAD OF PRODUCTION, ICELANDIC FILM CENTRE Since 2004, Martin Schlüter has been Head of Production at the Icelandic Film Centre. A German film producer and line producer, he has lived and worked in Iceland for more than 25 years. He has extensive experience in Icelandic and international film production, project management and collaboration across the audiovisual industry.

After working as a banker in the audiovisual sector in London and Paris, Rémi Burah joined Haut et Court as a partner, Managing Director and CEO of its communication agency, where he worked for eight years. He joined ARTE in 2001 and is currently CEO of its cinema co-production branch and ARTE Cofinova, a film financing company he initiated in 2004. He is also President of the ARTE Kino Endowment Fund, established in 2016 to organise the ArteKinoFestival.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

MASTERCLASSES Saturday, 26 September · 18:30 · Háskólabíó 1 · Masterclass: 60 min

MASTERCLASS WITH DAVID LEITCH, KELLY MCCORMICK AND ELÍSABET RONALDSDÓTTIR: THE ART OF TAKING ACTION How is a contemporary action sequence actually built? Join David Leitch, Kelly McCormick and Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir for an inside look at the art of storytelling—and what makes audiences connect with a film. Drawing from their work across action, comedy, thrillers and character-driven genre films, they’ll explore how characters, tone, emotion and collaboration transform an idea into a cinematic experience that surprises, moves and stays with us.

PROGRAM

Sunday 27 September · 13:40 · Háskólabíó 2 · Film: 88 min · Masterclass: 60 min

Wednesday 30 September · 19:20 · Háskólabíó 2 · Masterclass: 90 min

TWELVE YEARS WITH AMÍLCAR: DOCUMENTARY FORM, ARCHIVE AND THE LONG ROAD TO A FILM

BUILDING PLATTFORM: ERIK HEMMENDORFF ON PRODUCING WITH RUBEN ÖSTLUND

Following the screening of Amílcar, director Miguel Eek reflects on the creative and practical journey behind a film developed over more than a decade. Taking the film as a starting point, the conversation will explore how documentary form can emerge through research, archive, writing and sustained access; how a filmmaker works with politically charged material without reducing a historical figure to an icon; and how a project changes through years of development, financing, collaboration and editing. Moving between artistic process and the realities of independent documentary production, the masterclass offers an insight into what it means to stay with a film for twelve years — and how to keep searching for the right cinematic form along the way. Moderator: ANA CATALÁ

How do you build one of the most influential production companies in Nordic cinema without losing the ideas that made it radical in the first place? Drawing on more than two decades of collaboration with Ruben Östlund, Erik Hemmendorff traces the evolution of Plattform Produktion from its beginnings just after film school to a company behind some of the most internationally acclaimed Swedish films of recent years. Founded in 2002 with the ambition to challenge established industry models and create a space where ideas could drive films forward, Plattform has developed alongside Östlund’s work from early shorts and first features to increasingly ambitious international productions. Through clips, behind-the-scenes material and stories from across their collaboration, Hemmendorff reflects on the strategic and creative choices that shaped that journey: how a producer and director grow together, how a company evolves without losing its original identity, and how long-term collaboration can create the conditions for films that challenge audiences and bring something genuinely new to the screen. Moderator: FRÉDÉRIC BOYER

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

MASTERCLASSES Thursday 1 October · 17:00 · Háskólabíó 1 · Film: 97 min · Masterclass: 60 min

MASTERCLASS WITH AMANDA KERNELL

Celebrated at RIFF as this year’s Emerging Master, Amanda Kernell is one of the most distinctive voices in Nordic cinema. Born in northern Sweden to a Swedish mother and Sámi father, she transforms personal and cultural experience into fiction that reaches far beyond autobiography. Preceeding the screening of Brace Your Heart, Kernell enters into a conversation about representation, identity, belonging and what families and communities choose to speak about—and what they leave unspoken. She will reflect on her approach to actors, landscape and point of view, and on the ways memory shapes her films. Moderator: PIPALUK K. JØRGENSEN

PROGRAM

Friday 2 October · 19:30 · Háskólabíó 2 · Film: 67 min · Masterclass: 60 min

DESIRES WITHOUT APOLOGY: MASTERCLASS WITH JOÃO PEDRO RODRIGUES Following a screening of Will-o’-the-Wisp, João Pedro Rodrigues joins RIFF for a special masterclass on a body of work that has reshaped the possibilities of queer cinema. One of Portugal’s most important contemporary filmmakers, Rodrigues has been celebrated internationally for the precision, daring and freedom of his vision. Rodrigues has created films in which queer desire, eroticism, ritual and fantasy enter directly into conversation with the observed world. His cinema moves freely between documentary attention and myth, allowing bodies, identities and landscapes to become sites of transformation.

Moderator: PEDRO EMILIO SEGURA BERNAL

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

ARCTIC SCRIPT LAB WHAT IS THE LAB ABOUT? Arctic Script Lab is a script development programme for emerging screenwriters and writer-directors creating narratives grounded in Arctic and Nordic experience—environmental, social, cultural and political. In its pilot edition, the hybrid lab brings together 10 emerging screenwriters working on 8 Nordic projects, developing at treatment level, deepening thematic focus, and connecting with industry representatives during RIFF Industry Days. Participants are working on their first or second feature-length fiction or documentary film. The pilot edition of the Arctic Script Lab has been developed in partnership with Nuuk International Film Festival and co-funded by Nordic Culture Fund.

Online sessions: 7–9 August 2026 In-person Reykjavík sessions: 30 September–3 October 2026

DAGUR KÁRI MENTOR Dagur Kári is an Icelandic film director and screenwriter born in France to Icelandic parents. He studied at the National Film School of Denmark, graduating in 1999 with the award-winning short Lost Weekend. His debut feature Nói Albínói premiered at Rotterdam, followed by Dark Horse in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, The Good Heart, and Virgin Mountain. Between 2013 and 2017 he headed the director’s programme at the National Film School of Denmark.

PIPALUK KREUTZMANN JØRGENSEN GUEST SEMINAR SPEAKER / PARTNER Pipaluk Kreutzmann Jørgensen is an award-winning Greenlandic Inuk director, writer and producer. Her feature debut Anori was the first Greenlandic feature by a female director. She co-directed the Oscar-nominated short Ivalu and founded the Nuuk International Film Festival, championing Arctic and Indigenous cinema.

EMILE HERTLING PÉRONARD GUEST SEMINAR SPEAKER / PARTNER Emile Hertling Péronard is an award-winning and Oscar-nominated Greenlandic film producer working between Nuuk and Copenhagen. A 2023 Cannes Producer on the Move, his films have screened at Cannes, Venice, Berlinale and Sundance. He is co-founder of Ánorâk Film, Chair of Arctic Indigenous Film Fund, Co-Director at ARTEF, and Executive Director of Nuuk International Film Festival.

PROGRAM

PARTICIPANTS:

AVILIAQ

AKKU KRISTENSEN A Greenlandic writer whose voice is forged in the working-class realities and cultural landscape of his homeland—years in construction, harbour cargo, and hospital work shaped his early engagement with the friction between Inuit identity and Danish influence. Aviliaq is his debut screenplay, written after moving to Poland.

Country / co-production: Greenland, Poland Genre: Dark Comedy Duration: 100 min Language: Greenlandic Type: Fiction feature Synopsis: After his partner leaves him for a DanishGreenlandic bureaucrat, fish factory worker Malik spirals into a darkly comic revenge. When blind rage collides with the ancient Aviliaq covenant during a deadly blizzard, loss forces him to confront the wreckage of his identity.

MO TAN Born in China and based in Warsaw, Mo Tan graduated in 2018 from the Directing Department of the Polish National Film, Television, and Theatre School in Łódź. Her documentary and narrative work consistently examines cultural clashes and human dilemmas.

DOG DAYS (WORKING TITLE) Country / co-production: Iceland, Denmark Original title: Hundadagar Genre: Dramedy, Period / Historical Duration: 115 min Language: Icelandic, Danish, English Type: Fiction feature Synopsis: During the Napoleonic Wars, indebted Danish captain Jörgen sails to famine-threatened Iceland with merchant Samuel Phelps. When the governor forbids them to trade, the pair decide to arrest him and liberate Iceland from Denmark — what could possibly go wrong?

ELECTRIFIED Country / co-production: Norway, Austria, Germany Genre: Thriller, Drama, Environmental Duration: 90 min Language: Norwegian, English, German Type: Fiction feature

PARTICIPANT:

ANDREA BJÖRKANDRÉSDÓTTIR

An Icelandic-born, Berlin-based director, visual artist and comedian with a background in illustration and animation. Active in Berlin’s English-speaking comedy scene since 2018, she has written and developed a comedy series about the Icelandic Sagas with comedian Hugleikur Dagsson, produced by RVK Studios for RÚV (2027), serving as Assistant Director and An mation Director on the series.

Synopsis: A mysterious force turns Tromsø’s power grid on and off like a heartbeat. Blackout specialist Emil must choose between saving the city and keeping a promise to his estranged daughter Alma, a physicist on the edge of a career-defining breakthrough.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

PARTICIPANTS: LAURENS PÉROL

JOSHUA JÁDI

A Greenlandic writer whose voice is forged in the working-class realities and cultural landscape of his homeland—years in construction, harbour cargo, and hospital work shaped his early engagement with the friction between Inuit identity and Danish influence. Aviliaq is his debut screenplay, written after moving to Poland.

A writer and director, alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Torino ScriptLab, Sarajevo Talents, RIFF Talent Lab and Locarno Academy Summer School, and a member of the European Film Academy since 2025.

HOLES TO HELL Country / co-production: Faroe Islands, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Greenland, United States Original title: Hol til Helvitis Genre: Crime & Gangster, Dark Comedy, Art, Horror Duration: 100 min Language: Faroese, English, Danish, Norwegian, Sámi, Greenlandic, Icelandic Type: Fiction feature

GOODS Country / co-production: Denmark, Iceland Genre: Psychological Thriller, Magical Realism Duration: 80 min Language: Multiple Type: Fiction feature Synopsis: On board a research ship in the North Atlantic, a scientist determined to extract every secret from the sea floor meets a captain who sails with the elements and accepts that nature is unpredictable. This could have been a love story.

Synopsis: Teitur is a father, works in an old people’s home and owes the wrong people a lot of money. In desperation, he becomes a drug mule for a mysterious substance and lands in the middle of a battle between global forces using the Faroe Islands as a testing site for the future.

PARTICIPANT:

HILKE RÖNNFELDT

TRYGVI DANIELSEN

A screenwriter and director working across Iceland, Denmark and Northern Germany, and alumna of Torino Script Lab, LIM – Less Is More, Berlinale Talents,and Oxbelly Episodic Lab, selected for European Film Promotion’s Future Frames. She previously worked as a programme assistant at RIFF and currently advises Stockfish Film Festival and distribution agency NORRA.

A 35-year-old Faroese writer, director and producer who has made a host of short films, music videos and music films, plus one previous feature, 111 góðir dagar (111 Good Days, 2021), which premiered at Stockfish Festival in Reykjavík. He is also a musician and author, having released 10 albums and 4 books, and holds two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s in creative writing and literature from the University of the Faroe Islands.

PROGRAM

PEARL OF THE NORTH Country / co-production: Iceland Original title: Perla Norðursins Genre: Satire, Dark Comedy, Social Issue, Drama Duration: 100 min Language: Icelandic Type: Fiction feature Synopsis: Pétur returns to the island he spent years escaping. His mother needs looking after, his father is there in the only way he knows how, and Norwegian investors have arrived with plans to sell the 164-person community off piece by piece.

PARTICIPANT: PÉTUR ÓSKAR An Icelandic actor, musician and screenwriter born in Luxembourg in 1984, trained at Cours Florent in Paris and under Thomas Ostermeier and Falk Richter at the Schaubühne Berlin, with a career across five languages. Pearl of the North is his first feature screenplay, drawing from his own life and his deep connection to Iceland.

PARTICIPANT:

SOKLI (WORKING TITLE) Country / co-production: Finland Genre: Documentary Duration: 75 min Language: Finnish Type: Documentary feature Synopsis: A mine is planned on untouched land in Finnish Lapland. Beyond ecological destruction, it threatens to sever the ancestral connection a group of local elder women have to the area. Sokli is an ode to the meanings that exist beyond the surface.

ELINA TALVENSAARI A Finnish documentary director known for intimate, visually precise films about memory, place and the quiet drama of everyday life, whose work has premiered at Venice and IDFA. Her debut feature Lady Time (2019) was widely praised and won the Jussi for Best Documentary Film in 2021. She collaborates with Aamu Film Company and longtime editor Okku Nuutilainen.

THE SHIP THAT WASN’T THERE Country / co-production: Greenland, Denmark Original title: Skibet der ikke var der Genre: Documentary Duration: 75 min Language: Greenlandic, Danish, English Type: Documentary feature Synopsis: Inuk searches for new information about a ship that mysteriously sank after leaving his childhood hometown of Qaqortoq. The investigation reveals how Greenlandic knowledge of Arctic conditions was excluded from the story—and what Inuit knowledge might still uncover.

PARTICIPANT: CLAUS PILEHAVE

A trained journalist based in Copenhagen, Claus has made a number of TV documentaries as scriptwriter and director, including Greenland’s White Gold, made together with Greenlandic director Otto Rosing. He is currently working on this documentary about the relationship between Greenland and Denmark with Greenlandic director Inuk Jørgensen. He completed a screenwriting summer course at the European Film College in 2022.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

NORDIC VOICES THINK TANK Wednesday 30 September · 13:30–15:00 · The Nordic House

THE STATE OF SCREENWRITING What does it mean to build a life as a screenwriter in the Nordic and Arctic region today, and what needs to change? This year’s Nordic Voices Think Tank is a closeddoor working session bringing together the participants of Arctic Script Lab with leading Icelandic screenwriters Davíð Már Stefánsson, Katla Sólnes and Aldís Amah Hamilton for an open exchange on the realities of writing for film and television today. Hosted by Pipaluk K. Jørgensen, Dagur Kári and Amalie Lynge Lyngesen, the session will look candidly at the conditions in which writers are developing work today: authorship and creative ownership, development processes, relationships with producers and funders, career sustainability, and the pressures shaping which stories ultimately reach the screen. This is not a panel or lecture, but a participatory working space built around the experiences of the people doing the work. The discussion will feed into a set of findings and recommendations to be shared with industry and funding bodies, continuing the Think Tank’s founding principle of turning conversation into something that can travel beyond the room.

HOSTED BY: PIPALUK K. JØRGENSEN DAGUR KÁRI AMALIE LYNGE LYNGESEN

PROGRAM

ICELANDIC SCREENWRITERS: DAVÍÐ MÁR STEFÁNSSON SCREENWRITER Davíð Már Stefánsson is an Icelandic screenwriter and former journalist whose work spans Nordic and international television. He holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and has written for series including Katla (Netflix), Trapped (Netflix), Gangs of London (Sky/AMC), and the historical miniseries King & Conqueror (BBC/CBS). His horror feature Auteur is currently in development with Wild Atlantic Pictures.

KATLA SÓLNES WRITER, DIRECTOR

ALDÍS AMAH HAMILTON

Katla Sólnes is an Icelandic writer-director. She is a Nicholl Fellow (2026) selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a Sundance Screenwriters Lab fellow (2025) and a Hamptons Screenwriters Lab fellow (2026) with her feature Eruption, which is in development and produced by Anton Máni Svansson of STILL VIVID. Her work juxtaposes intimate and complex relationship stories against the volatile landscape of Iceland. Katla holds a Master’s degree in Screenwriting from Columbia University and has received support from the Academy, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Icelandic Film Fund and Indian Paintbrush.

ACTRESS, WRITER Aldís Amah Hamilton is an Icelandic-American scriptwriter and actress working across theatre, film, television, video games and commercials. She is one of the creators, writers and lead actors of Black Sands I & II, and has received multiple nominations for her work on the series. She advised on the script for the BAFTA-winning game Hellblade II and is currently developing a new project with her partner Kolbeinn under the guidance of Glassriver, with support from the Icelandic Film Centre.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP) Friday 2 October · 09:30–12:30 · The Nordic House Work in Progress (WIP) is RIFF Industry Days’ curated showcase for films in active development, production or post-production. It gives selected filmmakers the opportunity to present their projects to invited industry professionals and connect with potential co-production partners, financiers, sales agents, distributors and other collaborators who can help move the films forward. This year’s selection brings together ten Nordic and international documentary and fiction projects from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Estonia and Italy, at stages ranging from development to post-production. The showcase will be followed by curated one-toone meetings, giving project teams and invited professionals the opportunity to continue conversations in a more focused setting and explore potential partnerships. This is an invite-only event. If you have not received an invitation but are an industry professional interested in attending the showcase — in person or via livestream — please contact industry@riff.is.

COMMUNITY POLAND, ICELAND As sheep disappear from Icelandic fields, tourists multiply. Through the eyes of a heimalningur, we see a rural community caught between tradition and survival as farms transform into guesthouses and restaurants and the landscape itself is reshaped by tourism.

Director: SZYMON RADZIO Polish director, screenwriter and production manager of short films, a graduate of the Łódź Film School who works at the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission/Film Fund. Known for Perseidae (2026), A Few Blocks Away (2021) and Rosebud (2021). Producer: KATARZYNA STASIEŁUK Polish producer (Łódź Film School, University of Gdańsk) who has contributed to acclaimed shorts including Dead Marriage and Crocodile, the latter premiering in the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes 2023. Producer: GUÐNÝ GUÐJÓNSDÓTTIR Icelandic producer and Head of Finance at Kontent, specializing in project financing, budgeting and financial management, and leading the company’s production team. Producer: SARA D. BALDURSDÓTTIR Icelandic producer and Head of Finance at Kontent, specializing in project financing, budgeting and financial management, and leading the company’s production team.

Stage: Development Genre: Documentary Feature Estimated length: 71 min Looking for: Majority co-producer; minority co-producer; financing / grant support Completion: 2028 Production companies: HAKA Films; Kontent Productions

PROGRAM

DARK OCEAN ICELAND, CANADA On his first voyage aboard an Icelandic fishing trawler, young deckhand Hákon enters a closed world shaped by silence, loyalty and relentless labour. Belonging comes at an emotional cost, forcing him to choose between becoming one of the men or holding on to himself. Stage: Development Genre: Drama Estimated length: 120 min FAROE ISLANDS, ICELAND Looking for: Post-production partner; financing / grant support; sales and distribution partners From a remote North Atlantic island, Eivør Production companies: Glassriver; emerged with a voice shaped by raw nature, an- Terminal Pictures cient echoes and an almost magical sense of place. The film traces how an artist from the Director: BALDVIN Z Faroe Islands forged a singular path onto the in- Award-winning Icelandic writer, ternational stage. director and producer known for Jitters, Life in a Fishbowl and Let Stage: Development Me Fall (the latter two premierGenre: Documentary ing in Toronto), with over 40 inEstimated length: 90 min ternational awards and 22 Edda Looking for: Co-producer (Faroe Islands / Awards. Denmark); sales agent; distributor; pre-sale Production company: Vesturport Producer: ARNBJÖRG HAFLIÐADÓTTIR (ABBY) Director: One of Iceland’s most experiÁGÚSTA M. ÓLAFSDÓTTIR enced producers, having proWriter and producer and duced over 160 TV episodes a member of Vesturport, known across 27 series plus feature for award-winning documentafilms, earning numerous Edda ries and for writing, producing Award wins and nominations. and showrunning the TV series Vigdís. Producer: GUÐGEIR ARNGRÍMSSON Producer: Icelandic producer known for RAKEL GARÐARSDÓTTIR character-driven storytelling, MD and producer of Vesturport, starting with Albatross (2015) with a wide range of award-winand continuing with From Icening film, documentary and TV land to Eden and Odd Fish; credits as well as international currently producing the series theatre productions; awarded Avalanche. Iceland’s Order of the Falcon for her environmental work.

EIVØR

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP) CAPRICORN SYNDROME PORTUGAL, FINLAND Pedro arrives at a remote Finnish clinic seeking help for the mysterious Capricorn Syndrome, a condition said to affect only people born between late December and early January. A rigid routine and unconventional methods force him to confront his fears. Stage: Development Genre: Absurdist Psychological Drama Estimated length: 100 min Looking for: Minority co-producer; postproduction partner; financing / grant support Production companies: Jângal Studios; David & Golias; Films Films Films Oy Director: MIGUEL MUNHÁ Portuguese director, producer and cinematographer with degrees from film schools in Lisbon and Barcelona; his work includes Nunca as minhas mãos ficam vazias (acquired by Tate Modern) and Pássaro Azul (Warsaw Film Festival). Producer: ANA SOFIA NUNES Portuguese producer and co-founder of Jângal Studios, with recent credits including Pássaro Azul and Era uma vez uma vez no apocalipse; selected for Locarno Pro’s Match Me! networking programme.

MERMAID IN THE SUN PORTUGAL An old family campsite on Portugal’s northern coast is at risk of closing to make way for a luxury resort, bringing transient tourists into conflict with the long-standing community that returns to the site year after year. Stage: Development Genre: Drama Estimated length: 100 min Looking for: Minority co-producer; financing / grant support Production company: Bando à Parte Director: JORGE QUINTELA Portuguese director and cinematographer, founding partner of production company Bando à Parte, whose debut short Ausstieg won an honorable mention at Curtas Vila do Conde. Producer: RODRIGO AREIAS Portuguese producer and director who has produced over 150 films and won San Sebastián’s Golden Shell, three Venice Lions and a Locarno Leopard.

PROGRAM

MARATHON BEFORE MENOPAUSE ICELAND, DENMARK, SWEDEN, SPAIN In a desperate race against her biological clock, outspoken middle-aged journalist Sara turns to a mysterious Danish tantra master to boost her fertility. Their unexpected relationship forces her to choose between the future she planned and a life she never imagined. Stage: Pre-production Genre: Dramedy Estimated length: 106 min Looking for: Executive producer; financing / grant support; sales, broadcasters and strategic partners Completion: Q4 2028 / early 2029 Production companies: Kisi Productions; Asta Film; Harmonica Films; KABOGA FILMS Director: BRYNJA VALDÍS GÍSLADÓTTIR Icelandic director, actor and acting coach with nearly three decades in film, theatre and television, known for short films and documentaries with a particular focus on dramedies. Producer: JÚLÍUS KEMP Icelandic producer and director with nearly four decades of experience, co-founder of Kisi, who has produced 19 feature films including Let Me Fall and Odd Fish. Producer: AÐALHEIÐUR KRISTBJÖRG JENSDÓTTIR MATHIESEN Producer with a decade-plus background in business development, financing and strategic partnerships before moving into film; holds an MSc from Copenhagen Business School.

BRÆÐSLAN | WHEN THE FJORD AWAKENS ICELAND A sensory documentary about the people, resilience and inspiration behind a music festival in a remote Icelandic village of only 90 inhabitants, where an abandoned fish factory becomes a yearly gathering place for locals, artists and visitors. Stage: Production Genre: Documentary, Music, History Estimated length: 70 min Looking for: Minority co-producer; executive producer; financing / grant support; finishing and market strategy Completion: 2027 Production company: Heima Studios Director: SKÚLI ANDRÉSSON Icelandic filmmaker, writer, producer and director known for atmospheric, place-driven storytelling; credits include Graves & Bones, Strýta and Secret and Lies. Producer: OLGEIR PÉTURSSON Icelandic marketing director and creative producer with a personal connection to Borgarfjörður eystri, bringing strategic insight and brand expertise to the project.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP) COUPLE OF STRANGERS FINLAND After a heartbreak, Maria moves quickly into a new relationship and a dream home. As unsettling incidents mount, she suspects the upstairs neighbour—until she begins to realise that her new partner is not what he seemed. Stage: Post-production Genre: Psychological Drama, Horror, Suspense Estimated length: 90 min Looking for: Minority co-producer; executive producer; post-production partner; financing; festival and distribution connections Completion: Spring 2028 Production company: Artesons Oy Director/Producer: OLLI SALMI Finnish screenwriter and director working on his debut feature after an established background as an assistant director; previously produced the short On the Bus in Munich.

JUST A KID ICELAND, ESTONIA After moving from Norway to Iceland, 16-year-old Júlía struggles to care for her younger sister and fit in at a new school. When a traumatic drunken night resurfaces, she must confront shame, family responsibility and the courage to tell her own story. Stage: Post-production Genre: Coming of Age, Drama Estimated length: 100 min Looking for: Awareness and networking Production companies: Ursus Parvus; Alexandra Film Director: VALA ÓMARSDÓTTIR Icelandic filmmaker and performance maker with master’s degrees from Goldsmiths and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, known for the award-winning shorts SPRUNGUR/FRACTURES and ÉG/I. Producer: HLÍN JÓHANNESDÓTTIR Icelandic producer working in film since 2000, owner of production company Ursus Parvus, with credits including Oh Grindavik and Everybody Loves Horses.

PROGRAM

GHOST VOICES PORTUGAL, FINLAND, ITALY A documentary exploring Europe’s geographical and cultural peripheries through languages, songs, stories and soundscapes, reflecting on borders, belonging and the ways people inhabit and imagine territory. Stage: Rough cut Genre: Documentary Estimated length: 65 min Looking for: Financing; grant support; sales partner Completion: May 2027 Production companies: Bando à Parte; Oktober OY; Karel Director: RODRIGO AREIAS Portuguese producer and director who has produced over 150 films and won San Sebastián’s Golden Shell, three Venice Lions and a Locarno Leopard. Producer: JOONAS BERGHÄLL Finnish director, writer and producer working since 1998, running his own company Oktober OY and recognized as one of Finland’s leading documentary makers.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

IMPACT TALKS Following selected screenings of socially and politically engaged films in the programme, Impact Talks bring together filmmakers and invited experts to explore the wider contexts in which these works are made, circulated and received. Moving beyond the conventional Q&A, the conversations use cinema as a starting point to examine urgent social, political and environmental questions and to consider how films can participate in public debate, connect with specialist knowledge and create impact beyond the screen.

FULL STEAM AHEAD: WOMEN, ENERGY AND EQUALITY

THE SIEGE OF PARADISE: WHO IS TOURISM FOR? Sunday 27 September · 16:40 · Háskólabíó 2 · Film: 82 min · Impact Talk: 45 min

Saturday 26 September · 17:05 · Háskólabíó 2 · Film: 89 min · Impact Talk: 45 min Full Steam Ahead turns its attention to the women who have helped shape Iceland’s geothermal and energy sectors—fields in which scientific progress and innovation have not always been matched by equal opportunities in the workplace. Following the screening, this Impact Talk brings together the directors and the women featured in and connected to the film, including Hrefna Kristmannsdóttir, Hildigunnur Thorsteinsson, Edda Sif Pind Aradóttir, Irma Erlingsdóttir, and Málfríður Ómarsdóttir, for a candid conversation about gender equality in the field: the paths they have taken into traditionally male-dominated professions, the barriers and workplace cultures they have encountered, what has changed across generations, and what still needs to change. Moderated by gender studies scholar Guðrún Elsa Bragadóttir. the discussion will look at what meaningful equality requires beyond representation—from access and leadership to recognition, institutional culture and the conditions that allow women to build and sustain careers in science and energy.

The Siege of Paradise offers a vivid portrait of Cinque Terre, where fewer than three thousand residents contend with millions of visitors each summer. Taking the film as a starting point, this Impact Talk will explore what happens when tourism begins to transform the places and communities it depends on. Bringing the discussion from Italy to Iceland, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, Managing Director of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF), and Sigrún Tryggvadóttir, representing a downtown Reykjavík perspective, will be joined by other specialists to examine the pressures tourism can place on housing, infrastructure, local services, fragile environments and everyday community life. The conversation will ask how destinations can balance the economic benefits of tourism with the needs of residents, what role social media plays in shaping travel patterns, and what happens when places increasingly risk being designed for visitors rather than for the people who live there. The discussion will be held in Icelandic.

PROGRAM

LA PIETÀ: LANDSCAPE, MEMORY AND A CHANGING CLIMATE Thursday 1 October · 17:00 · Háskólabíó 2 · Film: 82 min · Impact Talk: 45 min La Pietà is rooted in a landscape undergoing profound transformation. Beneath Vatnajökull, the story of Flosi Björnsson and his family becomes inseparable from the glacier itself—a place of memory, livelihood and identity that is now rapidly changing. Taking the film as a point of departure, this Impact Talk will explore what it means to live alongside environmental change that unfolds gradually but alters both landscapes and the communities connected to them. The discussion will look at glaciers not only as indicators of the climate crisis, but as places carrying personal histories, cultural memory and a sense of belonging. Filmmakers Pepe Andreu and Rafa Molés will be joined by Helga Ögmundardóttir, environmental anthropologist and Associate Professor at the University of Iceland, whose work explores human relationships with nature and environmental change, and Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, Professor of Glaciology at the University of Iceland and one of Iceland’s leading experts on glaciers. Together, they will discuss what is lost when familiar landscapes begin to disappear, how environmental change is understood both scientifically and through the lived experience of communities, and how cinema can make slow, often abstract processes such as climate change feel immediate and personal. Moderated by Elís Guðnason.

GROWING UP BEFORE YOUR TIME: CHILDHOOD UNDER CONFLICT Friday 2 October · Háskólabíó 1 · Educational Screening: · If Luck Will Come: 13:00 · Dua: 17:00 · Impact Talk follows If Luck Will Come · Impact Talk: 45 min If Luck Will Come and Dua approach childhood under conflict from two different cinematic perspectives: one through documentary, the other through fiction. Filmed over three years in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, If Luck Will Come follows Zahra and Zalgai at close range as education, freedom and economic security begin to disappear. For Zahra, adolescence means losing access to school and facing expectations she has not chosen; for Zalgai, family circumstances force him prematurely into adult responsibilities. Dua, set in Prishtina, Kosovo, in the late 1990s, follows a 13-year-old girl coming of age as ethnic tensions escalate and the threat of war and exile enters everyday life. Against this backdrop, adolescence, friendship, identity and resistance become inseparable from the violence unfolding around her. Following the screening of If Luck Will Come, Camille Bildsøe, producer Hanna Björk Valsdóttir, Dua’s director Blerta Basholli will be joined by UNICEF Iceland Executive Director Birna Þórarinsdóttir for a conversation about what happens when war, repression and political upheaval enter the intimate space of childhood.

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

NETWORKING EVENTS WELCOME DRINKS: TALENT LAB & ARCTIC SCRIPT LAB

give fado a new voice by weaving together tradition and modernity while exploring identity, gender and social change. The duo will be joined on stage by Reykjavík Queer Choir for a unique event that brings Icelandic choral tradition together with Portuguese folk music.

Thuesday 29 September · 17:00–19:00 · Háskólabíó Foyer A relaxed welcome reception bringing together this year’s Talent Lab and Arctic Script Lab participants. A chance to meet fellow filmmakers, exchange first impressions and connect ahead of the days to come.

INDUSTRY DAYS OPENING PARTY: PORTUGUESE RECEPTION Thursday 1 October · 18:00–20:00 · Háskólabíó Foyer Join us for the official opening of Industry Days and a special reception celebrating Portugal, RIFF’s 2026 Country in Focus. An informal evening of drinks, conversation and new connections, bringing together our international industry community. Open to all Industry Pass holders.

Friday 2 October · 13:00–17:00 · The Nordic House Following the WIP showcase and industry lunch, selected project teams will meet invited industry guests in curated 15-minute one-to-one sessions. Meetings are designed as focused first conversations: a chance to exchange contacts, identify mutual interests and open the door to follow-up discussions after RIFF. If you are an industry professional interested in attending the showcase and taking a meeting with any of the WIP or ASL projects, please reach out to industry@riff.is

PRODUCERS’ GATHERING HOSTED BY THE SWEDISH EMBASSY Friday 2 October · 17:00–18:30 · Swedish Ambassador’s Residence

CONCERT: FADO BICHA AND REYKJAVÍK QUEER CHOIR

An invitation-only gathering for selected producers and industry guests, hosted in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy. An informal space for drinks and conversation to connect Icelandic and international producers.

Thursday 1 October · 20:00–21:45 · Háskólabíó 1 To continue the celebrations of the Portuguese-Icelandic connection this year, we invite all Industry Pass holders to this special event. Fado Bicha is a Lisbon-based duo charting its own course as it redefines one of Portugal’s bestknown and most beloved musical traditions: fado. Singer Lila Fadista and guitarist João Caçador

WORK IN PROGRESS ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS

WHO IS HERE? Accredited guests can use RIFF’s Who Is Here directory in Eventival to discover fellow attendees, review professional profiles and arrange meetings during Industry Days.

PROGRAM

INDUSTRY ACCREDITATION INDUSTRY BASIC

INDUSTRY FULL FILM STUDENT

ISK 6.500

ISK 21.500

Included in this pass: • Panels and Masterclasses • Impact Talks + film screening included • RIFF Talks

Included in this pass: • Same access as Industry FULL with a 20% student discount

NB: Access to all screenings (except for Impact Talks and selected Masterclasses), special screenings and invite-only industry events are not included in the Industry BASIC accreditation.

SINGLE TICKET Panels: ISK 1.900 Masterclass: ISK 2.500

INDUSTRY FULL ISK 26.900 Included in this pass: • Access to all regular screenings in our program • Panels and Masterclasses • Impact Talks • RIFF Talks NB: Access to special events are not included in the Industry FULL accreditation.

Find more information and request your accreditation at riff.is

SPECIAL THANKS

INDUSTRY DAYS 2026

Norraenahúsid (The Nordic House), Saemundargata 11, 102 Reykjavík

PROGRAM

Háskólabíó, Hagatorg, 107 Reykjavík

18:30 Masterclass with David Leitch, Kelly McComick and Elísabeth Ronaldsdóttir Háskólabíó 1

17:05 Full Steam Ahead + Impact Talk Háskólabíó 2

SAT 26.09.

16:40 The Siege of Paradise + Impact Talk Háskólabíó 2

13:40 Amílcar + Masterclass with Miguel Eek Háskólabíó 2

SUN 27.09. MON 28.09.

17:00–19:00 Talent Lab + Arctic Script Lab Mixer Háskólabíó Foyer

TUE 29.09.

WED 30.09.

THU 01.10.

FRI 02.10.

SAT 03.10.

10:00–13:00 Arctic Script Lab (closed event) Fundarsalur, Nordic House

13:30–15:00 Nordic Voices Think Thank (closed event) Fundarsalur, Nordic House

10:00–13:00 Arctic Script Lab (closed event) Fundarsalur, Nordic House

13:15–14:45 From Festival to Audience: Sales, Distribution and the Life of a Film Nordic House

09:30–12:30 Work-inProgress (invite only) Nordic House

10:00–13:00 Arctic Script Lab (closed event) Fundarsalur, Nordic House

10:00–13:00 Arctic Script Lab Fundarsalur, Nordic House

17:00–18:30 RIFF Talks Háskólabíó 3

16:00–17:30 Local Stories, Global Screens: Can Small Film Indutries Break Through? RÚV Headquarters, Studio A, Efstaleiti 1 15:15–16:45 Film as a Weapon Nordic House

13:00 If Luck Will Come + Impact Talk Háskólabíó 2

17:00

La Pietà + Impact Talk Háskólabíó 2 Brace Your Heart + Masterclass with Amanda Kernell Háskólabíó 1

13:00–17:00 One-to-One Meetings Nordic House

19:20 Masterclass with Erik Hemmendorff Háskólabíó 2

18:00–20:00 Industry Days Party: Portuguese Reception Háskólabíó Foyer

15:00–16:30 Co-producing Across Difference: Iceland, Portugal, and the Logic of Small Markets Nordic House

17:00–18:30 Producers' Gathering (invite only) Swedish Ambassador’s Residence

20:00–21:45 Concert Fado Bica Háskólabíó 1

19:30 Will-o’-theWisp + Masterclass with João Pedro Rodrigues Háskólabíó 2