Protagonist Pictures brings Thordur Palsson’s The Damned to Cannes

Palsson’s feature debut which received development funding as part of Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s former Genre Boost programme, is now being edited in Ireland, after filming wrapped in Iceland.

Written by Jamie Hannigan based on an original idea by Palsson (The Valhalla Murders), the tense psycho-horror is set in 19^th century Iceland.

The young widowed Eva has to make an impossible choice when, in the middle of an exceptionally cruel winter, a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated fishing post. Eva and her crew must choose to either rescue the shipwrecked or survive the winter with their last remaining food. Facing the consequences of their action and tormented by guilt, the local inhabitants start to believe they are all being punished for their choices.

On top of the earlier announced Odessa Young (Mothering Sunday) in the title role, Joe Cole (Gangs of London, Peaky Blinders) who recently set foot in Iceland for Netflix’s Against the Ice, is part of the ensemble cast, together with Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley, The Stranger), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones),Turlough Convery (Killing Eve, Belfast), and Andrean Sigurgeirsson (A Song Called Hate).

Top Icelandic crew members include multi-awarded cinematographer Eli Arenson (Lamb, Trapped) and production designer Frosti Fridriksson (Godland).

The film is being produced by Emilie Jouffroy and Kamilla Kristiane Hodøl for The UK’s Elation Pictures, John Keville and Conor Barry for Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Pictures and Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page and Nate Kamiya for the US’s Ley Line Entertainment.

Iceland’s Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson and Anton Máni Svansson of Join Motion Pictures are co-producing, together with Belgian’s Benoit Roland of Wrong Men.

“We could not be prouder of what Thordur and this magnificent ensemble of talent have achieved on The Damned,” said joint producers Hodøl and Jouffroy. “The Icelandic landscape is a part of the haunted soul of this film and shooting in the depths of winter in the West Fjords provided physical and creative challenges, and each of those challenges could not have been overcome without the support of our fantastic partners. We are so excited to get this film into the world.”

Palsson told us that his close-knit partnership with his Elation Pictures producers and his scriptwriter led to fast- problem solving during lensing.

The London-based Icelandic writer/filmmaker said he was also keen to capture the beauty of the Icelandic landscape “as if seen for the first time through foreigners’ eyes”.

He praised the talents of his co-nationals Arenson “a gifted cinematographer and storyteller”, Fridriksson who built a two-story house in a local fishing factory rented for temporary studio space, and his international ensemble cast led by Young. “The film is seen through her character’s eyes, so Odessa is almost in every frame. Every day she had to brave the Icelandic elements and still delivered a great performance,” Palsson underscored.

Protagonist Pictures whose film catalogue includes the Norwegian psychological thriller The Innocents (Cannes Un Certain Regard 2021 entry) will be kickstarting sales at the Cannes Marché du Film (May 16-24).

The film is due to be delivered by the end of the year.

Meanwhile the genre-driven Palsson who picked up the 2016 Nordic Talents Prize in Copenhagen, has a string of other projects in development, including the Icelandic disaster series Flateyri produced by Glassriver.