Party Film Sales Snaps Up Oscar-Nominated Runar Runarsson’s ‘When the Light Breaks,’ About ‘Young People Fighting Their Inner and Outer Demons’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Annika Pham Paris-based The Party Film Sales has boarded renowned Icelandic auteur Rúnar Rúnarsson’s fourth pic, “When the Light Breaks,” which is selected for Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market’s works in progress session.Rúnarsson serves as producer together with Heather Millard of Iceland’s Compass Films, in co-production with local banner Halibut, Holland’s Revolver, France’s Eaux Vives/Jour2Fête and Croatia’s MP Film.

Lauded for his coming-of age tales set against Iceland’s majestic scenery, Rúnarsson saw his international breakthrough in 2008 with his Oscar-nominated short “Two Birds.” Since then, he has delivered equally poetic fare in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2011 entry “Volcano,” San Sebastian 2015 winner “Sparrows “ and 2019 Valladolid and Lübeck fest winner “Echo.” As in his earlier works, Rúnarsson was inspired by a personal event for “When the Light Breaks”. “Ever since experiencing the loss of a friend as a young man, I wanted to deal with the emotions I experienced the day it happened by telling a universal story.

Another recent loss in my life re-awoke that urge, and the storyline became more concrete,” Rúnarsson explains. His aim was “to create a narrative or image that encompasses the complex feelings on a day of losing someone unexpectedly, when reality is altered and the future changes at an instant,” he told Variety.“The film takes that moment and expands it.

It unfolds in a short period of time in which the space between contradicting emotions is narrow, when laughing turns into crying, and beauty coexists with sorrow.” Unwilling to unveil too much of the storyline, the writer-director just hinted at main character Una’s personal behaviour and dilemma.