Baltasar Kormakur’s “The Deep,” Iceland’s shortlisted Oscar entry that didn’t place as one of the five hallowed nominations, has picked up 11 Edda Awards at Iceland’s annual ceremony celebrating the best in film and television. 11 wins (including Best Film, Director and Lead Actor) is a record for the awards’ 15 year history.
“The Deep” is based on a 1980s true story of one man’s miraculous survival after the sinking of his fishing boat. Pitched into the freezing waters off the Icelandic coast, the fisherman (played in the film by the rotund Olafur Darri Olafsson) swam to shore and hiked back to town without succumbing to hypothermia. The other crew onboard all perished. The film goes beyond the classic survival-adventure template and examines the mysterious reasons why the man would have survived, fascinatingly portraying the scientific tests he underwent following the accident, his resulting celebrity, and the overwhelming religious beliefs of his small-town community.
We previously interviewed Kormakur about the film’s production, which required him to swim in the north Atlantic to get the shots he wanted, and about his upcoming plans to direct a Viking-era project.
Focus World has US rights to the film, and plans a theatrical release in the first half of this year.
Here’s the full list of Edda Awards won by “The Deep”:
Film of the Year: The Deep
Best Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson
Best Cinematography: Bergsteinn Bjorgulfsson
Best Editing: Sverrir Kristjansson and Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
Best Production Design: Atli Geir Grétarsson
Best Sound Design: Kjartan Kjartansson and Ingvar Lundberg
Best Original Score: Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason
Best Visual Effects: Dadi Einarsson
Best Costumes: Helga I. Stefánsdóttir
Best Hair and Make-up: Ragna Fossberg
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