Cannes 2019 A White, White Day competes at the Critics Week

The film was supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

After Woman at War’s triumph at last year’s Critics Week where the film picked up three awards including Best Screenplay, Iceland has another strong contender this year in A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur), by the multi-awarded up and coming director Hlynur Pálmason. The story of grief, revenge and unconditional love is set in a remote Icelandic town.

Star actor Ingvar E. Sigurðsson plays an off-duty police chief who suspects a local man of having had an affair with his late wife, who died in a tragic accident. His obsession starts to endanger himself and his loved ones.

The film was produced by Anton Máni Svansson of Join Motion Pictures, in co-production with Denmark’s Snowglobe, Sweden’s Hob AB, Film i Väst, RUV, DR, support from the Icelandic Film Centre, the Danish Film Institute, the Swedish film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Creative Europe.

A White White Day also received support from the Fund’s Nordic Distribution Boost to lift its distribution across the Nordics. New Europe Film Sales handles world sales.

Nordisk Film & TV Fond CEO Petri Kemppinen said: “Hlynur is a painter of images on film and conductor of disturbing sounds, but with his second feature, he is also more of a storyteller. The story is about unconditional love which will carry you through the mist when all you believe in is fading.”

Anton Máni Svansson said: “We are thrilled and honoured for this selection. We are very proud of the film and can't wait to share it with the world. It is also sweet to be able to give birth to it this quickly as we can't wait to start production on Pálmason's third feature. There are exciting times ahead and being part of Cannes this year gives us a powerful and positive push forward.”

The film will be released domestically by Sena in September 2019.

Besides A White, White Day, two Nordic short films were selected for the Critics Week Short Film Competition.:

• The Manila Lover (Norway/Philippines) is directed by Johanna Pyykkö, episodic director of NRK’s hit series Home Ground. Barbosa Film is producing.
• Ikki illa meint (Faroe Islands/Denmark) is directed by Andrias Høgenni for SAM Productions. The 21-minute film is the first Faroese language entry at the Critics Week.

The 58^th Critics Week will unspool May 15-23.

Meanwhile the main Cannes Film Festival has selected three Nordic directors for its 2019 programme unveiled last week.

The Official Selection will present in its out of competition slot two episodes of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Amazon Prime series Too Old to Die Young. The Danish genre specialist won Best Director in Cannes 2011 for Drive and returned twice in official competition with Only God Forgives (2013) and The Neon Demon (2016).

The Cannes Short Film Competition has 11 films vying for the Palme d’or, including 

• All Inclusive by Finland’s Teemu Nikki produced by It’s Alive Films 
• Who Talks (Ingen lyssnar) by Sweden’s Elin Övergaard, winner of the Dragon Award-for Best Nordic Short Film in Göteborg. 

Finally two feature films competing for the Palme d’or are co-produced by the leading regional Scandinavian film fund Film i Väst: Jim Jarmusch’s opening film The Dead Don't Die and The Whistlers by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu.