Graduation Spring 2022 - Halldór Frank Hafsteinsson, Screenwriting and Directing

Halldór Frank will be graduating from Screenwriting and Directing on Saturday June 4th with his film "Feelblock"

A young woman called Gríma lives in a world where everybody has a device on their person called Feelblock and provides them with endless happiness so Gríma has never had a bad day before. One day Gríma loses her Feelblock device and finds out that it's out of stock and she won't get a new one in three weeks. Now she has to deal with new unknown feelings shortly after losing her grandma.

What is your first memory related to films?

 

Of course I watched many Disney films on video cassettes my first years as most people my age. Then also the first Harry Potter film with Icelandic dubbing and such, but I always remember when I got Spiderman 3 on DVD and started watching the behind the scenes material. At some point I had probably seen that more than the film itself, which is saying a lot, considering how many times I watched these films as a kid. My mother also worked at RÚV so I was often with her at work and sometimes was able to see them record “Our hour”.

 

What fascinates you about film making?

Ever since I saw the first behind the scenes material on my favorite films, and saw how things were done at RÚV I have always been fascinated how you could “fake” things to tell a story, I always remember when I was a child and witnessed one special effects scene in “Our hour” being recorded and they made a fairy maiden appear from nowhere and I realized how it was done and thought is was amazing. I soon started making my own short films with friends and did a lot of appearing and disappearing like when I got my grandfather to play a god in one scene and made him appear from nowhere.

But today I am most fascinated by how something written on a piece of paper can become something so much bigger. Writing the story, making the characters and creating the world and then seeing it all become alive at rehearsals and then on set. 

 

Why did you choose Screenwriting and Directing?

 

If I am going to be completely honest I chose my department because I was bored at work and I saw an advertisement on Facebook from the Icelandic Film School which read “Screenwriting and Directing department, one spot available, sign up here” and I clicked “sign up here”. I would have enjoyed any department, I really like it all. When I was a kid I was going to become an actor, then I started making my own short films, as a teenager I was always writing stories and was going to become an author, then I took film making in graduate school and started working in editing advertisements. So yes, any department would have been possible in a way, but I ended up clicking on a Facebook ad when I was bored

 

Anything that surprised you?

 

I really had not studied the courses that much so I did not know a lot about what I was getting into, so yes, many things surprised me. But what I also discovered was how much I enjoyed producing films, I knew I liked writing and redirecting so the production was a great addition that I truly appreciated. 

 

And what does the future look like?

 

Now writing will take over, producing and hopefully directing some films. I enjoy being part of all the processes. Writing the film, producing, directing and editing and I will continue to pursue that.