As Called “Berdymi“
Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As the group’s behavior escalates towards life-threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence?
Fourteen-year-old Balli is something of a misfit. He lives with his drug-addicted mother in a squalid house and is bullied by his classmates. A stepfather who “thought the gun wasn’t loaded” has left him with a glass eye. But then Balli meets three boys of his own age – Addi, Konni and Siggi – and a friendship gently develops. For the first time in his life, Balli finds that he is able to connect, especially with Addi, whose mother believes in “the subconscious”. Addi is fighting his own demons and, when his visions appear to indicate that Balli’s brutal stepfather can no longer be tolerated, the boys decide to act. Icelandic director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson finds poetic images for a world marked by violence and aggression in his coming-of-age drama. In it, he depicts a group of youths who are in danger of foundering on the gender-normative behavioural code of their peer group. Desperately they cling to each other – with a grip that is painful and tender in equal measure.
Reviews
Anna SmithDeadline – Hollywood Daily
Wendy IdeScreen – International
Festivals & Awards
- Berlinale Panorama – Europa Cinemas Label
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Horizons
- Mastercard OFF CAMERA – Competition
- Transilvania International Film Festival – Competition
- Guadalajara International Film Festival – Premio Maguey Competition
Cast
Birgir Dagur Bjarkason – Addi
Áskell Einar Pálmason – Balli
Viktor Benóný Benediktsson – Konni
Snorri Rafn Frímannsson – Siggi
Anita Briem – Guðrún (Addi’s mother)
Ísgerður Elfa Gunnarsdóttir – Hulda (Balli’s mother)
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson – Svenni
Kristín Ísold Jóhannesdóttir – Hófí (Balli’s sister)
Blær Hinriksson – Símon
Theodór Pálsson – Danni Braindead
Kamilla Guðrún Lowen – Anna
Aðalbjörg Emma Hafsteinsdóttir – Fríða
Sunna Líf Arnarsdóttir – Helga
Davíð Guðbrandsson – Haukur (Addi’s father)
Þórhildur Ingunn – Elísa (Addi’s sister) (as Þórhildur Ingunn Pétursdóttir)
Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir – Unnur (Balli’s social worker)
Árni Arnarson – Toni
Stefán Franz Guðnason – Jónas
Arnar Dan Kristjánsson – Reporter
Creative
Directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Writing by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Music by Kristian Eidnes Andersen
Cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grovlen
Edited by Andri Steinn Guojonsson, Anders Skov
Production Design by Hulda Helgadottir
Art Dection by Aron Martin Asgeroarson
Set Decoration by Frosti Fridriksson
Costumes by Helga Ros Hannam
Makeup and Hair by Magnea Brigisdottir, Salome Osk Jonsdottir
Sound Design by Jan Schermer
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