Björn Hlynur Haraldsson og Tinna Hrafnsdóttir munu leikstýra þáttaröðinni Vigdís, sem segir söguna af því hvernig Vigdís Finnbogadóttir varð forseti Íslands. Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir mun fara með aðalhlutverkið.
Sagt er frá þessu á Nordic Film and TV News:
Björn Hlynur Haraldsson and Tinna Hrafnsdóttir are co-directing the Icelandic biopic starring Nína Dogg Filippusdóttir as the legendary former Icelandic president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.
The event series is being produced by Vesturport’s Rakel Gardarsdóttir and Ágústa M. Ólafsdóttir, who also serves as co-writer with Björn Magnúsdóttir (The Minister).
Gardarsdóttir who came up with the idea, said the four-part series which has been in the starting blocks for the last 10 years, is being produced in full cooperation with Finnbogadóttir, who served as Iceland’s president between 1980 and 1996. “We have a fantastic script that tells Vigdís’ story, from when she was a teenager until she is elected the first female president in the world in 1980. Her story is full of hope and resilience, and will inspire audiences of all ages. This story needs to be told and now is the right time, so we are optimistic that it will be well received around the world,” added the producer.
Regarding the casting of Nína Dögg Filipusdóttir as Vigdís, Gardarsdóttir said the star actress has been attached to the project from the very beginning. “Not only is she one of the finest actresses around today but she also resembles Vigdís a lot. This resemblance applies to both their outward appearance and more importantly to the difficulties they have endured, which give them a similar energy and a deep connection.”
Other cast to be announced shortly, will include well-known names from Vesturport Production.
Co-director Haraldsson said not all life stories of personalities lend themselves to a cinematic adaptation, but Vigdís’ own story has “all the drama with all its colours that a TV series needs”.
“Vigdís is in some way the symbol of the Icelandic nation in the last century and into our time.” He goes on, “while the nation grew before and after the Independence from Denmark in 1944, there was an inevitable inferiority towards the old authority. But as soon as freedom is obtained, it often seems difficult to treat the new times and the fruition that follows. When independence is finally realised, what is there left to fight for?”, he asks.
Underlining Finnbogadóttir’s own complexity, Vesturport’s co-founder said: “Vigdís broke down barriers on so many levels but never seemed to find the fulfilment she thought would follow. She could never cope and enjoy her merits, so to speak. The contradictions in her character are striking, considering the fact that while she changed so many aspects regarding women in her time, she did not in any way participate in the Women’s Lib Movement in Iceland in the 1970s. Was she too much of a diplomat to fight a class or herd? Who knows? She went her own way, and still does.”
In a final statement about the project, Haraldsson said: Vigdís’ story is “a universal saga of hope and disappointment. A life story anyone can relate to.”
For Iceland’s public service broadcaster, Vigdís is its next big event local TV show after Vesturport’s Blackport, which was a huge audience and critical hit. Skarphéðinn Guðmundson, RÚV’s Head of TV-Programming Director said the pubcaster ordered the show at “unusually early stages”, based on the pedigree of the creatives, the important story, and Vigdís’ role model for young Icelandic women.”
So far, the series has received co-financing from SVT, NRK, Yle, the Icelandic Film Centre, Iceland’s 35% filming reimbursement scheme, and Copenhagen-based REinvent handling sales.
Filming will be majority based in Iceland, with some foreign shoots also planned -depending on the rest of the co-production set up to be finalised – most probably in France as Finnbogadóttir studied at the University of Grenoble and Paris.
Delivery is set for late 2024 or 2025.
REinvent International Sales will be discussing the Icelandic show at this week’s MIPTV, alongside 10 other Nordic series including NRK’s Power Play and Out of Touch competing at Canneseries.
