Woman at War

What’s a better way to save the world – sabotage power lines or adopt a Ukrainian orphan? This is the question the peculiar “zen terrorist” tries to resolve in Benedikt Erlingsson’s juicy, ironic, gorgeously shot and sound edited film which, like the anthology film Of Horses and Men, deals with endearing sketches of Icelandic stubbornness.

Fifty-year-old Halla seems like an orderly enough teacher and choir mistress, but beneath her placid façade, sleeps more than one might expect. The hard and uncompromising woman has another life – waging her own private war against the industrial giants that destroy the beauty of the Icelandic countryside. Bow in hand, the island’s most wanted woman deals with the same dilemmas many of us do: how does one do one’s part to stop a growing ecological and social catastrophe in its tracks?

Awards: The Winner of LUX Film Prize 2018. Cannes Critics’ Week 2018: The Best picture. Hamburg Film Festival 2018: Art Cinema Award for Best Feature. Ljubljana International Film Festival 2018: Kingfisher Award for Best Film. Seville European Film Festival 2018: Audience Award. Valladolid International Film Festival 2018: Best Actress. And other prizes.