Director Tinna Hrafnsdóttir is one of the small nations of Iceland’s many great talents. She started the film production company Freyja Filmwork to create more female-driven content and her film Quake is her debut as a feature film director. The film stars Anita Briem as the lead character Saga and Tinna Hrafnsdóttir also plays Jóhanna, Saga’s older sister. We spoke to her from her home in Iceland.

Your first feature film Quake is based on the best-selling novel “Grand Mal” by Audur Jonsdóttir. You wrote the script and directed it – what were the challenges of getting this project made?

The first challenge was to get the filming rights. Since this would be my first feature the author and the publisher took some time to consider whether they should wait for someone more experienced to film it but I’m proud to say that when Auður saw my first short film Helga she was convinced. Being a first-time director, getting finance from abroad was difficult but we managed and produced the film with a grant from The Icelandic Film Centre.

Your film has Anita Briem in the leading role as Saga, a woman who has a fierce epileptic attack and loses her memory as a result. She pretends to be fine so that she is not to be forced to give up her son, but repressed memories from her childhood start coming back affecting her life. What was it about this story that appealed to you?      

What Saga goes through. Quake is a psychological drama, with a touch of suspense, about the most important, yet most difficult, challenge in life. To face who you are and what made you become that person can be very difficult to process and since I have personally been through the journey from denial to acceptance, I instantly felt a strong connection to the story. The inward-investigative side of the story was also something I wanted to highlight in order to raise the suspense, but stories about the complications of human relationships and existence have always been my passion.

You also have a role in the film. Who do you play and what was it like directing yourself?

I play the role of Jóhanna, Saga’s older sister, who has been participating in keeping the dark family secret hidden. It went really well because I also wrote the script. I knew Jóhanna inside and out, so it was quite easy for me to step into her world and feelings on set.

Iceland is a small country with about 300,000 inhabitants. Thus, there are not a lot of actors to choose from. Yet, you have great talent there. How do you explain this?    

We have great talents in all art forms, music, theatre, contemporary art and literature, maybe it’s in the water, or inspiration from the landscape, the vibrant volcanoes and earthquakes, I don’t know. But being so few, living in a small country in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, makes it even more important for us to be heard and noticed so we aim to do well, I guess.

You created your own production company Freyja Filmwork. Why?

We are four women who created Freyja Filmwork. The company produces and focuses on projects that are made by women because we wanted to increase female empowerment in films and TV here in Iceland by creating more opportunities for women in the film sector. I graduated with (an) MBA degree from The University of Reykjavik in 2007 which was an important step for me when we decided to launch our own film production company in so many aspects. I like to be a part of the production of my projects, it gives me valuable oversight and, of course, a stronger voice in terms of decision making.

Quake is your first feature film, but you have directed two short films Helga (2016) and Munda (2017) both with women in the leading roles. Is it important for you to tell female stories?

Being a woman myself makes it more natural for me to tell their stories. Write what you know, someone said in one of the script workshops I attended, which is right. But that is still not my main goal to only tell stories about women. I intend to also tell stories about men in the future and being a mother of two boys gives me a good insight into the world of the male.

Helga is a film about a young woman who is reminded of her childhood and decides to become a different mother because of it. What made you want to tell this story?     

The story of Helga is based on a true story about a woman I know who once told me about herself as a kid, how she was able to find acceptance in an elderly lady who always was so extremely happy to see her, and it captured me. It made me think about how important it is to be thankful for what we have, to express what we feel on a daily basis, like how happy we are to see our children when they come home from school although we are tired or stressed out. Just a simple “Happy that you’re home” or “Hi darling, nice to see you” can make the world of difference for a child.

Munda is about an older woman, who has given her life to the church but seems to dream of a different life – what inspired you to make this film?      

The script is not written by me. Munda was a part of a project called Doris film project that started in Sweden. The purpose of the project was to change attitudes and structures towards gender equality in the film industry worldwide and provide a visual contribution to the ongoing public debate by creating films where women held all the key roles, both behind and in front of the camera. WIFT in Iceland launched a Doris film script competition in May 2014 and received 102 submissions. 11 scripts were selected by a jury composed of Iceland’s most respected film producers, writers and directors, for further development. Then in December 2015, five projects were selected to go into production and the script of Munda by Bergþóra Snæbjörnsdóttir was one of them. In May 2016 I won the annual Short TV pitch contest in Cannes (at that time the script was called Katharsis) which helped to get the project financed here in Iceland.

A lot of female-driven films and shows come out of Iceland – like The County, The Valhalla Murdersand Case – talk about why you think this is the case.     

I think that the industry is changing. Male directors and scriptwriters are starting to see the importance of telling stories about both genders. Films and TV projects led by a strong female character are more common now not just in Iceland, but also worldwide which is great and extremely important. We want what we see on TV or in cinema to reflect what is real, in order to be able to relate and connect to it, and women are half of the world’s population so it’s vital to tell their stories also.

Who are your role models in Iceland? Are there any female directors who you look up to?      

Of course. Guðný Halldórsdóttir was the first female film director I worked with when I had the lead role in her film The Quiet Storm in 2007 and she gave me a lot of inspiration. She’s very clever and takes no bullshit, if I may say so, and has clear vision. Ísold Uggadóttir who hired me to assist with the casting for her film And Breathe Normally is also a great talent with a deep sense of storytelling which is so important. We have many more talented female directors here in Iceland who are developing very fast but what I’m most thankful of is that we don’t hesitate to be there for each other, to give advice or consulting if needed, which is important for us in so many aspects.

What is next for you?

My next project is Home Is Where the Heart Is which is a six episodes TV mini-series (in the) development stage. It’s a satirical family drama with strong global themes which I’m writing with my co-writer Ottó Geir Borg and if everything works out, we will start shooting next summer. I also have few other projects in the pipeline, so these times are very exciting for me.