Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir received an Emmy last night for her score for HBO’s historical drama miniseries Chernobyl, Vísir reports. The miniseries chronicles the tragic events of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and features a score by Guðnadóttir, entirely made from sounds recorded at the site of the infamous calamity. This is the first Emmy win for Guðnadóttir, whose upcoming scores include Todd Phillips’ highly anticipated Joker movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix.
The 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were held over the weekend to honour outstanding achievements in U.S. primetime television, with Chernobyl sweeping up seven awards, including one for Guðnadóttir’s score.
As previously reported, Guðnadóttir’s score is made from sounds recorded on-site at a nuclear power plant. “I wanted to explore what a nuclear disaster sounds like – to go into the plant, put on the gear, walk through the huge spaces, smell how it smells,” Guðnadóttir told Iceland Review in a recent interview.
Read the interview with Hildur Guðnadóttir
Guðnadóttir’s next score is for Todd Phillips’ upcoming Joker film, which is awaiting an October release. Joker has already garnered considerable praise, winning the coveted Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival, with Guðnadóttir winning the Premio Soundtrack Stars Award for her score.
Hildur Guðnadóttir was not the only Icelander who was victorious over the Emmy weekend. Aron Hjartarson won an award alongside his team at Framestone, a production and visual effects company, for their involvement in Free Solo, the documentary about rock climber Alex Honnold.
