“Katla” will be helmed by Baltasar Kormákur (director of “Everest” and “Adrift”) and will mark the very first Netflix Original from Iceland.
For a country inhabited by less than half million people, Iceland has made some stunning achievements when it comes to films. Its most successful run was probably 2015’s drama “Rams”, but Icelandic films are often festival darlings. Even this year, Hlynur Palmason’s “A White White Day” won big during the Cannes Film Festival.
This talented nation didn’t have an equally solid dossier in the field of television, but that’s about it change thanks to Netflix.
The American company follows its strategy to conquer European markets – from Polish “The Witcher” to numerous serious made in France, Spain, the UK and Germany – Netflix expands further into Scandinavia. And the first Icelandic Original will be helmed by an award-winning Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur (along with Sigurjón Kjartansson) whose show will be called “Katla”. The writing room will belong to Lilja Sigurðardóttir, screenwriter Davíð Már Stefánsson and show-runner Kjartansson.
The project is now in its early development stage – the photography starts next year, while casting’s in progress.
What will “Katla” be about?
The story will follow a small village in Iceland, that’s devastated by a volcanic eruption called Katla. One year after the tragic event, the area is inhabited by a few people only and its known to be a spot haunted by spooks of the past (reaching even to prehistoric glaciers). The series will, however, lean more towards a supernatural sci-fi drama, rather than the “natural disaster” topic.
As Kormákur commented,
“It’s an exciting challenge to be embarking on this journey on Katla with Netflix, and we’re honoured to be the first Icelandic production team to be commissioned to deliver a full series. Katla is a unique and ambitious sci-fi project that has been in development within my company, RVK Studios, for a few years, and we’re delighted that it has now been picked up by Netflix.”
Source – nordiskfilmogtvfond.com
When will “Katla” premiere? Do we know anything about the cast?
No further information has been revealed so far. We don’t know if the cast will consist of Icelanders only or Netflix plans to bring in actors from other European countries.
“Katla” isn’t the only new project on Baltasar Kormákur’s plate. The Icelandic filmmaker has begun pre-production of a new Hollywood drama “The Good Spy“, starring Hugh Jackman.
Judging from the pre-production timing, “Katla” will probably be set for release at the end of 2020.
News source: cineuropa.org
