The Last Farm (Síðasti Bærinn), a short film directed by the Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson received an Oscar nomination yesterday in the short film category.
The Last Farm is about a farmer who, along with his wife, is the lone inhabitant of a deserted valley. Husband and wife come under great pressure to move to the city.
“This was great news – I am very happy and proud of my people,” said Rúnar to Morgunbladid. According to Morgunbladid, Rúnar was busy receiving telephone calls from well wishers all day yesterday, and planned to celebrate the nomination in Copenhagen where he is currently studying film.
Last year, The Last Farm won the ‘Danzante’ grand prize at the Huesca Film Festival held in Spain. According to the Icelandic Film Center, Kvikmyndamiðstöð Íslands, The Last Farm has been extremely successful, raking up awards including the Best Short Film at Nordisk Panorama 2004, the Best Short Film at the Kiev International Film Festival Molodist 2004 and received the Icelandic Edda Award for a short film in 2004. The film already has three offers from US companies regarding distribution rights in the US. The European rights have already been sold.
The film was filmed in Dýrafjördur in North Western Iceland.
