In the original Icelandic version, the two main characters of Finn and Alfred - two employees of the Icelandic Road Administration that spend their summer painting lines on the winding roads of the West fjords - are played by Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson and 2012 Shooting Star Hilmar Gudjónsson. The film produced by Iceland's Mystery Island with the UK's Flickbook Films has travelled to over 20 international festivals since its world premiere at San Sebastian's Zabaltegi-The Directors section and most recently the 38 year-old director Sigurdsson was named by trade magazine Variety as one of Ten European Directors to Watch.
The US version Prince Avalanche was shot in Texas and is already in post-production. Mystery Island's producer and co-founder David Óskar Ólafsson expects the English-language film to re-boost interest on the original film and is currently negotiating international distribution.
Other projects in the works at Mystery Island include Metal Head by Ragnar Bragason (Children/Parents). Set in the 1970, it's the story of the young rebellious Hera who finds solace in the dark music of Heavy Metal when her older brother is killed in an accident. The project stars Þorbjörg Helga Dýrfjörð, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir and Jörundur Ragnarsson. The editor is the Academy Award nominated Valdis Óskarsdóttir. Metal Head is set to start shooting in the autumn, with a delivery date set for the end of 2013. The project was supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.