film synopsis
The director of Paris of the North joins forces with the producer of Rams (PSIFF 2016) and returns with a family drama spiced with darkly comic components. The absorbing story follows two neighboring households who become involved in a bitter dispute over a tree, which the owners find incredibly beautiful, but that blocks the sun in the garden of the ultra-sporty couple next door. As the tree dispute escalates, property is damaged, pets mysteriously disappear, security cameras are installed and the complaining neighbor acquires a chainsaw. As writer/director Hafsteinn Sigurðsson notes, “Trees are quite rare. If you have a big and beautiful tree you don’t want to cut it down. However, sunshine in your garden can also be quite rare, so it can be an impossible conflict.” Sigurðsson’s treatment of that impossible conflict incorporates unconventional thriller elements into this supremely watchable, distinctive new film.
In competition for the FIPRESCI Prize.