Iceland’s Glassriver launches film division
August 12, 2025
Icelandic film and TV production company Glassriver has announced the official launch of its dedicated film division with its debut feature, Dark Ocean, directed by Baldvin Z.
The new division will be led by acclaimed director Baldvin Z, best known for the internationally lauded features Life in a Fishbowl, Let Me Fall and Jitters and the hit Netflix original series Case with Guðgeir Arngrímsson, who served as a producer for Albatross, Eden and most recently the international success Odd Fish.
The new slate of original feature films and international co-productions includes multi genre festival and commercial titles. The slate of originals in development is led by Dark Ocean, with a second untitled feature from Black Sands and Cold Haven writer Elias Kofoed Hansen which will be announced later this year.
Dark Ocean is claustrophobic drama set on a fishing trawler in the North Atlantic. Exploring masculinity, grief and the corrosive cost of survival it tells the story of a young deckhand on his first voyage as he and a team of fisherman battle the brutal forces of nature and face the ruthless demands of survival at sea. The film is written by rising Icelandic screenwriter and founding member of the award-winning theatre and music collective Hatari, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson.
The launch of the film division sees Baldvin Z and Arngrímsson build on Glassriver’s reputation for creating premium drama for global audiences with a growing slate of original, high quality Icelandic and international stories following the growth of their TV slate with Cold Haven, Elma, Reykjavik Noir and Black Sands.
The company is currently in talks with international co-production and distribution partners and will position its upcoming films for major film festivals and awards as well as commercial routes to audiences via theatrical and streaming platforms.
Award-winning director, writer and producer Baldvin Z is one of the most prominent directors in Iceland. Over the course of his career, he has directed some of the most significant Icelandic films and TV series, including features Let Me Fall, Life In a Fishbowl, and Jitters.
Let Me Fall, his latest feature, released at Toronto International Film Festival, became the second highest grossing film in Iceland’s history. Life in a Fishbowl accumulated a record 12 Icelandic Academy Awards in 2015, its year of release. His latest series Black Sands premiered in 2023 and has sold to over 140 territories globally, with season 2 released at the end of 2024 in Iceland and Finland.
Guðgeir Arngrímsson is an Icelandic film and TV producer known for emotionally resonant, visually compelling storytelling. He launched his career with Albatross (2015), a dramedy set in Iceland’s Westfjords directed by Snævar Sölvason.
He worked again with Sölvason for Eden (2019), a gritty Reykjavík drama about two young lovers drawn into crime. The film earned praise for bold visuals and strong performances. In 2024, the duo teamed up once more on Odd Fish, a Nordic co-production backed by the Icelandic Film Centre and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
Baldvin Z, Director at Glassriver, said: “With the launch of Glassriver’s film division, we have the opportunity to tell bold, emotionally raw stories that resonate far beyond Iceland’s borders. Our goal is to create cinematic experiences that are as intimate as they are epic, grounded in truth, but made for the world stage with global partners.”
Guðgeir “Gucci” Arngrímsson, Producer at Glassriver, added: “We’re building a slate of films that reflect the soul of Iceland but are relevant wherever you are: extremes, humanity, dark humour with emotion. We’re collaborating with exceptional talent both locally and internationally and are ready to meet more partners to expand this. It’s time international cinema took up more space on the screen.”
Other posts by :
- Oman’s Spaceport ready for fast-track launches
- Bank uplifts RocketLab
- AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird/FM1 en route to India
- D2D satellite battle hots up
- Eutelsat share price rockets
- AST SpaceMobile recovers after Verizon agreement
- Bank has mixed messages for AST SpaceMobile
- EchoStar clears key regulatory hurdles for Starlink deal
- Starlinks falling to Earth every day