Three Nordic directors capture the beauty of everyday life in a captivating documentary

In a remote corner of Iceland’s Eastfjords, where few people venture and no one lives year-round, thousands of eider ducks return each spring to nest. Their small, handmade shelters dot the landscape like tiny houses in a village built for the birds. Here, in Loðmundarfjörður, farmers Ólafur “Óli” Aðalsteinsson and Jóhanna Óladóttir have spent over two decades caring for the ducks and building what is believed to be the country’s biggest eider nesting site.

The unusual sight inspired Amongst the Birds (Fuglar (og menn)), a documentary that follows a typical nesting season from May to July. Directed by Mika Kaurismäki, Ingvar Þórðarson and Ragnar Axelsson, the film was shot over three years and premiered at CPH:DOX in March 2026. It went on to win the Einarinn (audience award) at the Skjaldborg Documentary Film Festival, and since opening in Icelandic cinemas in September, has attracted over 5,000 visitors, making it the fourth most attended documentary in Iceland in the past 20 years.

How did two Icelandic and one Finnish director get together to make a documentary about birds? The story begins with a long-standing friendship and an accidental discovery that was too good not to film. The three brought distinctive perspectives to the project: Mika Kaurismäki is one of the most renowned Finnish directors, known for films such as The Worthless (Arvottomat), Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna), L.A. Without a Map; Ingvar Þórðarson is best known as producer, with credits including 101 Reykjavík, Life in a Fishbowl (Vonarstræti), Odd Fish (Ljósvikingar); and Ragnar Axelsson, also known as RAX, is a celebrated Arctic photographer whose work spans some of the region’s most remote areas, from Iceland and Greenland to Siberia.

“We’ve all been friends for a long time, and the idea for the film came on a walk, [when I was] hiking in the Eastfjords of Iceland,” Ingvar explains. “I was on a hike with friends, and then, of course, like in The Blues Brothers, I called the best guys in the world, Mika and Raggi, and they joined.”

Neither of them believed Ingvar was serious.

“I thought Ingvar was joking when he told me there’s a village of birds [living] in all different kinds of houses,” says Ragnar.

“Exactly,” laughs Mika. “Me too.”

“But he wasn’t. It’s like a village, except for the birds,” Ragnar adds.

Real estate for the birds

The village may belong to the birds, but it takes a remarkable amount of human effort to keep it running. Óli and Jóhanna, with help from friends and family, care for around 12,000 eider ducks nesting in some 6,000 nests. Resourceful and inventive, Óli transforms discarded objects, such as old lamps and coffee pots, into quirky little birdhouses.

“Each year he comes up with a few hundred houses that he has made over the winter. This is his Christmas,” Ingvar says. “The birds don’t like all the houses, they come and check them out. It’s really like buying real estate.”

Ragnar smiles: “These are very privileged birds. It’s easier to get a house there than in Reykjavik.”

Most seasons, around five people stay at the farm, protecting the birds from predators such as foxes and minks, while harvesting eiderdown. Welcoming a film crew into this tiny community required trust, and Ingvar’s close ties to the area made it easier. He had spent his childhood summers on a nearby farm, and Óli knew and respected the farmer Ingvar had grown up around.

“I think that was important,” Mika says of Ingvar’s ability to quickly befriend the farmers. “If I would go there asking if I can make a film about them, it wouldn’t be that easy.”

Humour goes a long way

Even though, technically the ducks are the film’s main characters — we get to follow them around and get a glimpse into their houses, thanks to Birgit Guðjónsdóttir’s outstanding cinematography — Mika agrees that “the film works so well because the people are so amazing. Óli and Albert (Albert Haukur Gunnarsson) and their families are so natural, and that’s a rare sight. I’ve made many documentaries, but seeing [them] act so naturally in front of the camera was very special.”

The banter between Óli and Albert, the characters’ childlike innocence — such as Óli dragging his wife in a boat like a sled — and the eccentricities of life on a remote farm, where three generations come together without the Internet or mobile reception, give the film its charm. “We were very touched by the whole thing,” Ingvar admits.

These moments helped shape the film, shifting the directors’ focus from birds alone to the relationship between birds and the people who care for them. “The humour is very important,” Ingvar stresses. “I’ve watched the film in 15 countries now, and people laugh, cry, or whatever in the same spots. It’s very international.”

Leave no trace

The directors agree that the collaboration went smoothly, and that, despite their different backgrounds, they found common ground. Mika and editor Nina Ijäs also brought a fresh perspective from Finland. The original soundtrack by Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson and sound design by Addi 800 give Amongst the Birds the feel of a David Attenborough (who, as it happens, asked to see the film) nature documentary.

The biggest challenge, the directors admit, was securing funding. The fjord’s remoteness also posed logistical challenges. To avoid disturbing wildlife, the crew couldn’t stay on the farm, so they cycled five kilometres to the location every day, often carrying equipment back and forth. “It’s like you’re going to the moon. How are you going to get there? Bring everything with you,” Ingvar says.

Having worked in isolated locations extensively, the directors understand the importance of treading carefully. Mika doubts that a typical crew would be as considerate. “If you sent like a normal crew there, from the US or something, they would destroy the place, and there would be no film,” he says.

While mindful of the film’s potential impact, the directors knew the fjord was so difficult to access that it was unlikely to attract the tourist crowds seen at other filming locations in Iceland.

“We wouldn’t have done it if we would ruin the place for the people,” Ingvar stresses.

Life is simple, actually

Following a strong reception in Copenhagen and Iceland, Amongst the Birds is now touring festivals across the US and Europe, with screenings at Nordic Film Days Lübeck and the Braunschweig International Film Festival in November. It has also been selected as Iceland’s submission for the 2027 Premios Goya.

Summing up, the directors hope that the film will encourage audiences to look at life differently and reconnect with simpler values. “Life is simple, actually. We pretend to make it complicated,” Ragnar says. At a time when so much ugliness is unfolding around the world, the film serves as a reminder of the beauty of everyday life, and as Ragnar puts it, that “life can be innocent and life can be beautiful”.

Official trailer:

Amongst the Birds is supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, as well as the Icelandic Film Centre, the Finnish Film Foundation, Yle, the Icelandic Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education, and RÚV.