In the middle of a lava field on Iceland’s southern peninsula, the crew of “The Fires” sets up the next shot. In the production village, producer Grimmar Johnson and other crew members take a coffee and pastry break in an RV near a car pictured on the bed of a truck in what appears to be a ditch. A few hundred feet away, as steam rises from the famous Blue Lagoon in the distance, a makeup artist fights the howling wind to perfect the premise of a romantic volcano disaster movie.
This stunning setup is par for the course in the island nation that has seen a boom in production since the healthy production discount was already increased by 25% two years ago to 35% for eligible larger production.
Location shooting for romantic film about the Icelandic volcano “The Fires”
Photo: Pat Saperstein
The Fires, which took 28 days to shoot, is the latest project to hit the small country, which has attracted some big names including HBO’s True Detective: Night Country in 2023 and, this year, the CBS Studios/BBC landmark series “King and Conqueror” and the Lasse Hallström Nordic noir series “The Darkness,” which also airs on CBS Studios.
“The Fires” has a modest-sized cast — certainly much smaller than its director, up-and-coming director Aujla Hauksdottir, oversaw when she was filming the large-scale FX series “Alien: Earth” earlier this year. But a commercially targeted project based on a popular and prescient Icelandic novel couldn’t be more timely – the town of Grindavik, close to the filming location, was recently evacuated following the eruption of the Sondhinksjjar volcanic chain. The volcano erupted again last week, covering the nearby Blue Lagoon car park in lava.
Johnson says keeping the crew safe was the biggest challenge when filming near an active volcanic area. “We had great cooperation with the police, the Icelandic Search, Rescue and Injury Prevention Association, the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Meteorological Office,” says Johnson.
Iceland has long been known for producers looking for stunning locations such as Thorfoss Falls, seen in Game of Thrones, or Vatnajökull Glacier, which was the ice planet in Interstellar.
Now the growing discount has brought millions of dollars to the production — nearly $29 million in the case of “True Detective,” the largest foreign investment in culture ever made in the country. The shoot was so high-profile that some local filmmakers began to worry that lawmakers might be prioritizing foreign investment over local creators who rely on the government’s film fund to help finance their films.
Not so, says director Baltasar Kormákur, one of the Icelandic film industry’s biggest champions. Spending on international productions benefits the local film industry in several ways: “It has really changed the industry for the better,” says the owner of RVK Studios, which provides a state-of-the-art home for Icelandic and international productions.
He stresses that it is harmful to accuse the opponent of causing wage inflation or monopolizing work crews. “Are you saying you have to keep people out of work so you can get them cheap? When an industry grows, there are all kinds of demands, people want more salaries, they get better, and that’s healthy. So I’m totally in favor of that, and I don’t “I want to disappoint people.”
But Johnson, the producer of “The Fires,” warns that the government needs to continue to provide strong support to local producers, especially as international productions have caused wages and production costs to rise. “In my view, focused political attention is needed to support local production and maintain a healthy balance,” he says.
When Kormakur acquired the property, located in an industrial area just outside Reykjavik, he decided to build RVK Studios with the kind of amenities he wished he had experienced in other phases. Instead of large, noisy blowers, the vast floors of the soundstages are heated by Iceland’s famous geothermal energy, and Kormákur requested that the stages include windows, so crew members could see daylight even when they were toiling away producing long takes.
Kormakor is also developing a nearby neighborhood that will eventually provide apartments, restaurants and shops to create a vibrant production community. After True Detective moved its research facility in Alaska to the stage, RVK Studios recently hosted the historical drama series King and Conqueror, starring James Norton as King Harold of Wessex. Kormakur directed the first episode and co-produced the series, which raged around the studios for over six months with a wealth of historical costumes and props.
Iceland’s Film Commissioner, Einar Hansen Tomasson, emphasizes that the diverse locations and screen tourism are only a small part of the picture. Part of the goal of increasing the incentive is to help develop other areas of work — from visual effects to scoring — with local orchestras.
“We want the products to stay longer in Iceland. We want them to use the infrastructure that Icelandic producers have taken the risk to invest in.
Thomason says he helps the crew gain experience working with the likes of Clint Eastwood and Christopher Nolan. He points out that local products also receive a production incentive.
“This is not one versus the other. This is one ecosystem that we all benefit from,” Thomason says.
“In general, the system strengthens Icelandic industry.”