The thing about Iceland is that we are trapped there anyway, all of us. We have been trapped there for thousands of years.

Throughout the history of Iceland, men have been lost at sea; every family in Iceland is connected to that kind of story.

I consider myself more a European director who is from Iceland than an Icelandic director.

I think my sweet spot is to make personal films on not-too-big budgets and also make other people's films, bringing productions to Iceland, upping the business here.

In Iceland, the weather is the biggest character you deal with every day. There's nothing more relevant in your life than what kind of weather it is.

I used to sail a lot in all kinds of weather, competing on small sailboats in the ocean. And I travel a lot in Iceland on horses every summer, through the wild areas where there's no inhabitants and there are volcanoes.