UNDER THE TREE
UNDIR TRÉNU
Directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson
Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany | 2017 | 89 min | urban satire | Icelandic
Agnes throws Atli out and does not want him to see their daughter Ása anymore. He moves in with his parents, who are involved in a bitter dispute over their big and beautiful tree that casts a shadow on the neighbours’ deck. As Atli fights for the right to see his daughter, the dispute with the neighbours intensifies – property is damaged, pets mysteriously go missing, security cameras are being installed and there is a rumor that the neighbor was seen with a chainsaw.
Credits:
Director: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson
Screenplay: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, Huldar Breiðfjörð
Cinematography: Monika Lenczewska
Editing: Kristján Loðmfjörð
Producers: Netop Films, Profile Pictures, Madants, One Two Films
Cast: Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson (Atli), Edda Björgvinsdóttir (Inga), Sigurður Sigurjónsson (Baldvin), Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir (Agnes), Þorsteinn Bachmann (Konráð), Selma Björnsdóttir (Eybjörg), Dóra Jóhannsdóttir (Rakel), Sigríður Sigurpálsdóttir Scheving (Ása)
Hafsteinn Gunnar SigurðssonIceland
Festivals & Awards
Venice International Film Festival – Orizzonti Competition
Toronto International Film Festival
Austin Fantastic Fest – Comedy Features – Best Director
Hamptons International Film Festival – Golden Starfish Award
Zurich Film Festival – Special Mention
Hamptons Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
Sao Paulo International Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
press quotes
the sharpest comedy to come from Iceland in a decade.
TIFF’s Steve Gravestock
Sigurdsson packs so much emotional depth into his accomplished third feature…
Near-perfect calibration between family drama and black comedy. Easy to watch, funny and thoughtful… has the audience literally torn between laughter and tears…
The Hollywood Reporter
“Under the Tree” is like a Michael Haneke film on laughing gas.
The Dallas Morning News
a perceptive exploration of spiralling domestic tensions… Inspiring ample laughs as well as palpable unease… sharp, stylishly-made…
Screen International
Shifts from darkly comedic to sadistic in a way that leaves you gasping. This film is about so much more than trimming a tree.
(…) Both terribly upsetting and terribly funny, “Under the Tree” was [is] worth the watch.
Film Book
Despite his young age, Sigurðsson demonstrates mastery of his subject… hitting the perfect groove between tragic and grotesque.
Cine Clandestino
