NOR26 The Fires

Winner of six Icelandic Film Awards, a box office hit in Iceland, and adapted from the best-selling novel by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir, this breathtaking thriller directed and co-written by Ugla Hauksdóttir in her debut feature film follows a volcanologist facing two simultaneous disasters. Anna Arnardóttir (Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir, King & Conqueror, Agnes Joy) is Iceland's top volcanologist, but her growing concerns about an impending volcanic eruption after recurring earthquakes are downplayed by her colleagues who wish to keep citizens and visitors calm and avoid sparking panic. Against the backdrop of a potential disaster, her life is upended by a secret romantic affair with the mysterious and attractive Danish photographer Thomas (Pilou Asbæk, Game of Thrones, Before It Ends), who reinvigorates her stagnant love life, but also has the power to destroy her marriage. As the tension escalates between Thomas and Anna, the volcanic activity also rises, until the safety of the capital city Reykjavík is threatened and in the dangerous moments before impending disaster, emotions begin to bubble over.