Bragason’s social realistic drama adapted from his own stage play for production house Mystery Productions, scooped Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, while Sigrún Edda Björnsdóttir and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir who reprised their stage roles, were voted respectively Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

The film was competing for Best Film against the late Jóhann Jóhannsson’s film Last and First Men and Najwa Najjar’s Between Heaven and Earth.

The Edda for documentary of the year was handed out to Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir’s festival hit A Song Called Hate about Icelandic band Hatari’s audacious pro-Palestine political stand at the Eurovision 2019 held in Tel Aviv. The film won Best Nordic Documentary at Oslo Pix 2021 and was nominated for a Dragon Award in Göteborg.

In a strong year for Icelandic TV dramas, the political satire The Minister (Sagafilm/RÚV) won Best Series, ahead of competing titles Thin Ice (co-produced by Sagafilm for RÚV with Sweden’s Yellow Bird/C More-TV4) and the dramedy Ordinary People 3 (Glassriver/Síminn).

Iceland’s star actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (read our interview: CLICK HERE) who plays the larger-than life-Icelandic Prime Minister Benedikt Ríkhardsson who suffers from bipolar disorder in The Minister was crowned Best Actor in a Leading Role, and his co-star Þorvaldur Davíð Kristjánsson Best Supporting Actor.

The crime thriller Valhalla Murders created by 2016 Nordic Talents winner Þórður Pálsson (see story CLICK HERE) for production outfits Truenorth and Mystery Productions, picked up Best Sound and Best Editing. The first Icelandic series co-produced by Netflix ran on RÚV before its roll out on the US streamer.

Meanwhile the multi-awarded animated film Yes People by Gísli Darri Halldórsson which was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 2021 Academy Awards was handed out an Edda for Best Short Film.

Nordisk Film & TV Fond was associated to four Edda awards for the series The Minister and Thin Ice.
A total of 27 film & TV prizes were handed out on Sunday evening including an honorary award to filmmaker Reynir Odsson.

Selected Edda Awards 2021:

• Best Feature Film: The Garden by Ragnar Bragason (Mystery Productions)
• Best Actor in a Leading Role: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson-The Minister
• Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sigrún Edda Björnsdóttir-The Garden
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Þorvaldur Davíð Kristjánsson-The Minister
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir-The Garden
• Best Screenplay: Ragnar Bragason-The Garden
• Best Children- and Youth category-Stundin okkar
• Best Documentary: A Song Called Hate by Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir (Tattarrattat)
• Best Fiction Series: The Minister (Sagafilm)
• Best Short film: Yes-People by Gísli Darri Halldórsson
• Best Visuel Effects: Filmgate, Guðjón Jónsson, Árni Gestur Sigfússon-Thin Ice
• Best Costumes: Helga Rós V. Hannam-The Garden
• Best Make Up: Áslaug Dröfn Sigurðardóttir-The Garden
• Best Sound: Huldar Freyr Arnarson-The Valhalla Murders
• Best Editing: Valdís Óskarsdóttir, Sigurður Eyþórsson, Guðlaugur Andri Eyþórsson-The Valhalla Murders
• Best Cinematography: Árni Filippusson-The Garden
• Best Production Design: Heimir Sverrisson-The Garden
• Best Original Score: Högni Egilsson-The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole

For further information, check: www.icelandicfilmcentre.is