When The Light Breaks

When The Light Breaks - image - a film by Rúnar Rúnarsson
When The Light Breaks - image - a film by Rúnar Rúnarsson
When The Light Breaks - image - a film by Rúnar Rúnarsson
When The Light Breaks - image - a film by Rúnar Rúnarsson
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2024 NEW ZEALAND FILM FESTIVAL
When The Light Breaks - poster - a film by Rúnar Rúnarsson
Quiet but intensely felt. Rúnarsson’s film eschews easy melodrama for a more tacit, sensory exploration of the sudden connections that death forges among the living.
Distinctive and stirring. Runarsson arranges his scenes like a painter does a still life... these compositions have surprising emotional impact and a clarifying depth. The universal themes and skilled direction suggest that 'When the Light Breaks' could have strong arthouse prospects.
Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
Cast: Elín Hall, Mikael Kaaber, Katla Njálsdóttir, Baldur Einarsson, Gunnar Hrafn Kristjánsson, Ágúst Wigum
Duration: 82mins
Country of Origin: Iceland
M
Mature themes, coarse language and drug use
Quiet but intensely felt. Rúnarsson’s film eschews easy melodrama for a more tacit, sensory exploration of the sudden connections that death forges among the living.
Distinctive and stirring. Runarsson arranges his scenes like a painter does a still life... these compositions have surprising emotional impact and a clarifying depth. The universal themes and skilled direction suggest that 'When the Light Breaks' could have strong arthouse prospects.

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION – 2024 CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Un Certain Regard)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2024 TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL (Centrepiece)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2024 KARLOVY VARY FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2024 NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

From acclaimed Icelandic auteur Rúnar Rúnarsson (Sparrows), WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS is a poignant new drama about a young woman whose conscience and resilience is tested over the course of a long summer’s day when she’s confronted by unexpected and life-changing events.

Sunset to sunset: just 24 hours are enough to turn the life of twenty-something arts student Una (a remarkable Elín Hall) completely upside down. And not just hers. Reykjavík has awakened to news of a terrible road accident, with Una’s boyfriend and fellow classmate Diddi (Baldur Einarsson) likely among the injured. But because of a secret she has been keeping from her friends, Una finds herself unable to express her true feelings like they can; She must navigate through her swirling emotions, and how she fits in, in her own way...

Luminously shot on 16mm film by award-winning cinematographer Sophia Olsson (The Crown) and featuring music from the late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, Rúnarsson’s personal and moving film – rapturously received at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival - finds grace notes of fleeting beauty as it explores the ripple effect of grief. Precise, tender and emotionally complex, WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS is deeply rewarding viewing.

When The Light Breaks - poster - a film by Rúnar Rúnarsson
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2024 NEW ZEALAND FILM FESTIVAL
2024 NEW ZEALAND FILM FESTIVAL (31 JUL-4 SEP)
Click here for screening details
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