24/02/2014 - Having already won 12 international prizes, Benedikt Erlingsson’s feature debut receives six national film awards, including four in the main categories

Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s feature debut, Of Horses and Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
film profile], continued its award-winning streak on Saturday (22 February), when the Icelandic Film and Television Academy announced the Edda Awards – Iceland’s national film prize – at a Channel 2 televised ceremony in Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall.

The countryside romance about the human streak in the horse and that of the horse in the human won in six categories, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay (both Erlingsson), and Best Actor (Ingvar E Sigurðsson). Iceland’s most popular film last year, Of Horses and Men has so far collected 12 international prizes, most recently the Audience and the international critics’ FIPRESCI Awards in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Audience Award in Tromsø, Norway; it has been sold to 26 countries.

Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead [+see also:
trailer
film profile] cashed in on eight of its 16 nominations, among others for Thorbjörg Helga Thorgilsdóttir as Best Actress. The movie is about a girl called Hera who – after her brother’s death, which she blames herself for – finds solace in the dark music of heavy metal and dreams of becoming a rock star.

Head of Media Desk Iceland for more than 20 years, Sigrídur Margrét Vigfúsdóttir received an Honorary Edda for her contribution to Icelandic cinema.

FULL LIST OF EDDA AWARD WINNERS 2014

Best Feature
Of Horses and Men - Benedikt Erlingsson

Best Director
Benedikt Erlingsson, for Of Horses and Men

Best Original Screenplay
Benedikt Erlingsson, for Of Horses and Men

Best Actor
Ingvar E Sigurðsson, for Of Horses and Men

Best Supporting Actor
Ingvar E Sigurðsson, for Metalhead. Dir: Ragnar Bragason

Best Actress
Thorbjörg Helga Thorgilsdóttir, for Metalhead

Best Supporting Actress
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, for Metalhead

Best Production Design
Gunnar Pálsson, for TV series Fólkið í blokkinni

Best Short
Whale Valley - Gudmundur Amar Gudmundsson

Best Visual Effects
Jörundur Rafn Arnarson, for Of Horses and Men

Best Costumes
Helga Rós Hannam, for Metalhead

Best Make-Up
Steinunn Þórðardóttir, for Metalhead

Best Documentary
The Laxá Farmers - Grímur Hákonarson

Best Sound Design
Huldar Freyr Arnarson, for Metalhead

Best Editing
Valdís Óskarsdóttir, for Metalhead

Best Cinematography
Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson, for Of Horses and Men

Best Musical Score
Pétur Ben, for Metalhead

Honorary Edda
Sigrídur Margrét Vigfúsdóttir