Woman At War – Preview

To her friends, Halla (Halldóra Geirharõsdóttir) leads a quiet and routine existence. But her happy and upbeat exterior hides a secret double life as a committed environmental activist. Known to others only by her alias ‘The Woman of the Mountain’, she secretly wages a one-woman-war on the local aluminium industry to protect the stunning highland landscape that is under threat. Just as she begins planning her biggest and boldest operation yet, she receives an unexpected letter that will change everything. She will be forced to choose between her environmental crusade and the chance of fulfilling her dream of becoming a mother. Funny, moving and utterly unique, Woman At War follows Halla as she juggles the adoption of a beautiful little girl whilst planning her final act of industrial sabotage.

Capturing the zeitgeist of today’s environmental issues as well as modern motherhood, Woman At War has received audience and critical acclaim from festivals around the world. Premiering in Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival 2018, the film has collected prizes from festivals including Tromso, Seville, Haifa, Hamburg, Ljublijana, Montreal, Valldolid and the Nordic Council.

Icelandic writer/director Benedikt Erlingsson is well known as an author, film and stage director as well as for his roles in theatre, TV and films. His solo performances are some of the most successful in the history of the Icelandic theatre, performed on stage by Erlingsson himself for 6 years. Of Horses and Men, Erlingsson’s first feature film as a writer/director, won over 20 international awards including the New Directors prize at the 2013 San Sebastian Film Festival and the 2014 Nordic council Film Prize.

Casting his childhood friend and colleague Halldóra Geirharõsdóttir in both of his films, Erlingsson describes why she was the perfect choice for the dynamic female protagonist in Woman At War: ‘As an actor she is a force of nature, and in the Icelandic theatre she really is THE ACTRESS of our generation. Her spectrum of talent is so wide that I feel that calling Halldóra just an actress diminishes her, failing to describe the full spectrum of what she can do. Besides acting for the screen she is also the most famous clown and comedienne in Reykjavík theatre and the go-to dramatic actress for the biggest repertory theatre in Iceland.’

Best known for the TV crime drama ‘Case’, Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead, Benedikt Erlingsson’s Of Horses and Men, and Agust Guomundsson’s The Seagull’s Laughter, Icelandic actor, musician and theatre director Halldóra Geirharõsdóttir has been nominated multiple times for her work on stage and screen most recently winning Best Supporting Actress for her role in Metalhead at the 2013 Iclelandic Edda Awards and Best Actress in the Icelandic Peforming Arts Awards for her role as the dance teacher in the stage version of ‘Billy Elliot’ in 2015.

Woman At War is released in UK cinemas on the 3rd of May.

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John McArthur

Editor-in-Chief at Moviescramble. A Fan of all things cinematic with a love of Film Noir, Sci-Fi and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. He hopes to grow up some day.