The Icelandic director Grimur Hakonarson graduated from FAMU - Film Academy of Performing Arts in Prague 2004. Before he went to film school he made several low-budget movies, like the documentaries about the unemployed musician Vardi, VARDI GOES ON TOUR (2000) and VARDI GOES EUROPE (2002). His graduate film from FAMU, SLAVEK THE SHIT (2005), was the first film that got international attention. It was selected to the Cinefoundation section of Cannes Film Festival 2005 and it won 12 festival prizes, including the “Silver Hugo” in Chicago International Film Festival.

His next short film, WRESTLING, was made in Iceland in 2006, a love story about two homosexual wrestlers. Wrestling was premiered in Locarno Film Festival 2007 and is one of the most successful short films from Iceland. It won 25 festival prizes around the world, including “Best short” in Interfilm 2008. Grimur's first feature film, a local comedy called SUMMERLAND (2010), was screened in Icelandic cinemas and was well received. It won two international prizes. In May 2012 Grimur premiered his documentary, A PURE HEART, in Skjaldborg Film Festival and won the main prize, the “Einar award”. Grimur's documentary, HVELLUR, was premiered in cinemas in Iceland in March 2013 and got great reviews. It won the Icelandic Academy awards (Eddan) for best documentary in 2014. Grimur also made a documentary called LITTLE MOSCOW in 2018, about a socialist fishing village in the East fjords of Iceland, that was premiered in Gothenburg film festival in 2019.

 

Grimur’s most successful film, RAMS, about two warring sheepfarming brothers, was premiered in Cannes Film Festival 2015 and won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section. It was also shown in prestigious festivals like Telluride, Toronto, Karlovy Vary, Sundance and Busan and it won 30 awards all together and it was sold to over 40 territories. In October 2020 the Australian remake of Rams was released, starring Sam Neil and Miranda Richardson. Grimur ́s latest film, The County, was premiered in Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 and it was sold to 30 territories. It didn’t win many prizes but it got good reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film rates 88%.