Iceland has always been on the edge of Europe, not only in a geographical sense but also in the European imagination. The harsh wildness of the island in the middle of the North Atlantic, shaped by glaciers and volcanoes, is not only impressively beautiful, but also threatening – especially when viewed from outside. The Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason, who lived in Denmark for years and later returned to Iceland, wanted to focus on the complex relationship between the two countries. This relationship is primarily characterized by the fact that Iceland was Danish territory until its independence in 1918.
