Berdreymi

Beautiful Beings

Fourteen-year-old Balli is something of a misfit. He lives with his drug-addicted mother in a squalid house and is bullied by his classmates. A stepfather who “thought the gun wasn’t loaded” has left him with a glass eye. But then Balli meets three boys of his own age – Addi, Konni and Siggi – and a friendship gently develops. For the first time in his life, Balli finds that he is able to connect, especially with Addi, whose mother believes in “the subconscious”. Addi is fighting his own demons and, when his visions appear to indicate that Balli’s brutal stepfather can no longer be tolerated, the boys decide to act. Icelandic director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson finds poetic images for a world marked by violence and aggression in his coming-of-age drama. (Berlinale)

Director's Filmography (Selection)
Berdreymi (Beautiful Beings, 2022) - Heartstone (2016; CE'17) - Ártún (Artun, 2014, short) - Hvalfjörður (Whale Valley, 2013, short)
Competition Fiction 2022
Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Island / Denmark / Sweden / Netherlands / Czech Republic 2022
color
123 minutes
Icelandic
OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Cinematography Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
Editing Andri Steinn Gudjónsson, Anders Skov
Sound/Sounddesign Jan Schermer, Björn Viktorsson
Music Kristian Eidnes Andersen
With Birgir Dagur Bjarkason, Áskell Einar Pálmason, Viktor Benóný Benediktsson, Snorri Rafn Frímannsson, Aníta Briem, Ísgerður Gunnarsdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson
Producer(s) Anton Máni Svansson, Lise Orheim Stender, Jesper Morthorst, Nima Yousefi, Peter Possne, Caroline Ljungberg, Linda van der Herberg, Jeroen Beker, Pavel Strnad
Production
Join Motion Pictures, Motor, Hobab, Film i Väst, Bastide Films, Negativ
World Sales
New Europe Film Sales
Austrian Premiere
World Premiere
Berlinale 2022