Baldvin Z Brings Family Secrets, Murder from the ‘Black Sands’ of Iceland to Berlinale
JD Linville There are few places on Earth more visually striking than the Black Sands of Reynisfjara Beach in Iceland, where tourists flock to take pictures and stand a fool’s chance to be smashed against the rocks by sneaker waves, then drowned at sea. These dangerous and beautiful beaches serve as backdrop for Icelandic showrunner Baldvin Z’s crime thriller series “Black Sands,” which will play at Berlinale Series. Written by Baldvin Z, Ragnar Jónsson, Andri Óttarsson and Aldís Hamilton, the limited series follows disgraced detective Anita (played by Hamilton) as she investigates a series of deaths at the beach while balancing the familial shadows of her past.The series, produced by Baldvin Z’s own Glassriver, brings a warmth to Nordic Noir not often seen, with scenes of Anita reconnecting and rekindling her hometown connections after expulsion from Reykjavik.