Crew Biographies
Anna María Karlsdóttir
Producer
Anna María Karlsdottir started her carrier in the film business as Head of International Relations at The Icelandic Film Fund. As General Manager of The Icelandic Film Corporation Karlsdottir is a key member of our staff. Her knowledge of the international film market and her personal contacts with key players in the field make her an invaluable asset to the company. As one of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's closest associates for more than a decade her input in project development is extremely important. She has been involved in the development, production and packaging of most of the company's films produced in recent years. Anna Maria Karlsdottir served as the director of the Reykjavik Film Festival 1998-2001.
Peter Rommel
Producer
Peter Rommel began in the distribution business in 1998 as one of the founding partners of the Berlin-based company, ex picturis. In 1992, he co-produced the film Business With Friends with the BFI/BBC in London, and in 1993 opened his own independent production company, Peter Rommel Productions, which specialises in international co-productions, as well as German language films. He is also a directing manager of Home Run Pictures, which was founded in 1996 and has its base in Stuttgart. Falcons is Rommel's fourth co-production with Fridrik Thor Fridriksson following Movie Days, Devils Island and Angels of the Universe. He has produced two films by German director Andreas Dresen Nachtgestalten, which won the German Film Prize in 2000 as well as the Prix Europa, and Halbe Treppe (Grill Point) (Grand Jury Prize , Berlinale 2002) - Sweety Barrett, directed by Stephen Bradley and Lost Killers, by Dito Tsintsadze, which was in official selection in Cannes in 2000. Projects in development include a new film by Dito Tsintsadze, Boy With a Tail as well as Pawel by Andreas Dresen. He is an EAVE graduate (1994) and a member of the Eouropean Film Academy since 1988 and the ACE Producer´s Network since 2001.
Egil Ödegaard
Producer
Egil Ödegaard (b.1961) is the CEO of the Norwegian film production company Filmhuset, established in 1993. He is also the company's main producer. During the last decade he has produced and co-produced ten feature films (including Fridriksson´s Devil´s Island and Angels of the Universe) and approximately twenty-five other films, shorts and documentaries.
Mike Downey
Producer
Currently Film and Music Entertainment Ltd's Managing Director, Mike was the co-founder and publisher of international film trade Moving Pictures, MPTV and the European Film Review. His feature production credits include Death Watch, Falcons, Charuga, Dubrovnik Twilight, Seven Days to Live and Josephine. His two-volume "The Film Finance Handbook: A Practical Guide for European Film Producers" was published last year.
Sam Taylor
Producer
Sam began her career as head of international sales at Jeremy Thomas and Chris Blackwell's Oasis company. Her first feature production was Milcho Manchevski's Oscar nominated Before the Rain which won the Golden Lion in Venice, then Benjamin Ross' feature debut The Young Poisoner's Handbook and Sweet Angel Mine, and then recently completed Under the Stars. Her most recent credits include Death Watch and Falcons. She sits on the Film Policy Group at PACT (UK Producer's Alliance) and the training board for government organisation, Skillset.
Einar Kárason
Script Writer
Einar Kárason (b. 1955) studied literature at the University of Iceland. His first collection of poems Air Conditioning (Loftrćsting) was published in 1979. His first novel They are idiots Gudjon (Ţetta eru asnar Gudjon) was published in 1981. Since, Karason has published 10 novels, including the immensely popular Devil´s Island and The Golden Island. Karason has collaborated with Fridrik Thor Fridriksson on a number of scripts for feature films. Their first collaboration was with White Whales (1987) followed by Devil´s Island in 1996 (based on Karason´s novels, Devil´s Island and The Golden Island). He wrote the script for Roots a one-hour TV film directed by Oskar Jonasson and broadcast on Icelandic State TV in 1997.
Árni Páll Jóhannsson
Production Designer
Árni Páll Jóhannsson (b.1950) is one of Iceland's most experienced Production Designers. In addition to teaching at The Icelandic Collage of Arts and Crafts (1976-88), The Icelandic Film School (1993-94) and at the International Film School in Cologne (since 1997), he has served as production designer on all of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's feature films, as well as on the Icelandic films: 101 Reykjavík, Vildspor, Pearls and Swines, Maria, Nature´s Warrior, Viking Saga, Men´s Choir, Deep Winter, Paper Peter and recently on Hal Hartley's No Such Thing. He also has several short films in his task, several theatrical productions and museum exhibitions and has written a number of screenplays for films. Together with producer Jim Stark he owns the production company Frozen Films.
Sigvaldi J. Kárason
Editor
Sigvaldi J. Karason (b. 1973) studied film editing at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) 1998-2000. He has worked as editor since 1993 on a number of short films, television documentaries and feature films. Along with Falcons, he has worked on Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's Angels of the Universe, Gisli Erlingsson's Ikingut, Robert Douglas's A Man Like Me, Baltasar Kormákur's 101 Reykjavik and many more.
Kjartan Kjartansson
Sound Design
Kjartan Kjartansson (b. 1963) graduated as sound designer from The Danish Film School, Copenhagen in 1991. He has worked with Fridrik Thor Fridriksson on all of his films since Children of Nature (1991) and runs the Dolby digital sound-mixing studio Cinema Sound in Reykjavík, owned by him and the Icelandic Film Corporation.
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson
Music
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (b. 1958) has been a prolific composer for film, TV and stage. He also dabbles in record production when the mood hits him. His production credits range from teenage death metal bands to Chicago blues legends such as Pinetop Perkins. He has worked with Fridrik Thor Fridriksson on all of his feature films as well as on the Danish films Sekten (1997) and Vildspor (1998) and on I wonder who´s kissing you now (1998) and Bye Bye Blue Bird (1999)
Harald Paalgard
Director of Photography
Harald Gunnar Paalgard (b.1950) is one of the leading directors of photography in Scandinavia. He is Educated at Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden and made his debut as a D.O.P. in 1980 on the film Fabel. Up to now he has shot more than 30 films and received awards for his work such as: The Kodak Prize - D.O.P. of the Year, The Swedish Award "Guldbaggan" for his photography in Dreamplay (1994) and The Norwegian National Prize "Amanda" for best photography in Orion´s Belt. Paalgard´s most recent films are: Falcons (2002), Tyven, tyven (2002) and Angels of the Universe (2000).
