Nordic Film Talks: Jón Hammer

Faroese producer Jón Hammer recently made history with the first film from the Faroe Islands to win the Nordic Council Film Prize, The Last Paradise on Earth (Seinasta paradis á jørð), directed by Sakaris Stórá.

Hammer recalls, “We were extremely proud of what we had achieved. It was the first nomination as well from the Faroe Islands. And then we ended up winning the prize, which was a bit crazy, to be honest,” he says in the latest episode of the Nordic Film Talks podcast. “It means a lot to us, because it was a film in the Faroese language. It felt like we were doing something important, and we achieved more than we set out to achieve when we started the project.”

He's also proud of The Last Paradise on Earth’s message – about a young man working at a fish factory that is facing closure. “Most films set in small places are usually about someone dreaming to get away, and this set out to do the opposite – some people don’t want to leave, they love this place.”

In 2017, Hammer, who previously worked in the Danish film industry at Zentropa and Adomeit Film, set up is own Faroese company Kykmyndir, which has now evolved into Outlier Projects. He has a wealth of experience both with Faroese features and documentaries, as well as working for bigger international shoots, like No Time To Die and the new live-action How To Train Your Dragon.

He’s encouraged by the changes in the past eight years. “When we made Dreams by the Sea (Dreymar við havið), which was Sakaris’ first film in 2017, I think that was film number six that had ever been made on the Faroe Islands in the Faroese language. That has changed a lot. Now we're making at least one fiction feature a year and a bunch of documentaries.”

The Faroe Islands, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, has a population of only about 55,000 people, but are increasingly showing growing ambitions in storytelling.

Trom was a landmark 2022 TV series that travelled well internationally, including with the BBC and ARTE; Hammer produced for showrunner Torfinnur Jákupsson (the pair is planning collaborations for the future).

Hammer was a member of the first board of the Faroese Film Institute, which has started to make big difference in building up the local industry. He's now seeing exciting new talents emerge. “We have probably six directors who are on the verge of breaking through with their features, which is amazing from where we started.”

There is now a 25% reimbursement scheme for qualifying spend – and Hammer says: “That has made a huge difference.” He’d next like to see minority co-production funding ringfenced for support. “We are establishing connections, but more money is definitely needed,” he says.

Hammer has been making those international connections for years. He’s currently serving as the Faroese co-producer and line producer on Tea Lindeburg’s The Seal Woman, with Denmark’s Motor as lead producers.

Lindeburg, who previously directed the award-winning As In Heaven (Du som er i himlen), did several location tours around the 18 major islands of the Faroes before she decided to shoot much of the film on Fugloy (also known as “Bird Island”). “It’s one of the most remote islands. Production-wise, it’s quite tricky to shoot here at this time of year because of ferry cancellations. But it's very beautiful, and a very special place. These visuals can do something that Tea didn't think could be done anywhere else.” The film itself is inspired by Faroese legends.

Hammer has also recently worked on No Rest for the Wicked, a genre film by Kasper Kalle, produced by Denmark’s Lars Bredo Rahbek, that was shot on multiple islands. Even though this is an international co-production, Hammer is proud it also includes many Faroese-speaking characters.

Also coming up is a documentary about a son directing a production of King Lear with his mother, who has dementia. Jazz great Bill Frisell will compose the score.

Of the big shoots like James Bond and the live-action How To Train Your Dragon, Hammer says: “You learn a lot, and you also get a connection to the US industry.”

For those Hollywood shoots, he usually works via the big Icelandic production services company True North, while his own company focuses on the more local stories.

With How To Train Your Dragon, Hammer discovered an interesting origin story – “Dean DeBlois, the director of How to Train Your Dragon, told me that the initial inspiration for the animated version of the island was actually an image of Tindhólmur in the Faroe Islands. It came full circle when they came here to shoot the live-action film.”

In the full podcast episode, he also discusses how tourism is impacting Faroese culture; why documentaries are especially important to rising Faroese filmmakers; and how he wants to help local films break into international markets.

Listen to the podcast here:

All Nordic Film Talks episodes are available on NFTVF’s website on the Industry Insights section (CLICK HERE), and are distributed through major podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser and JioSaavn.