| Devil's Island | |
| Director: | Friðrik Þór Friðriksson |
| Music: | Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson |
| Runtime: | 99 minutes |
| Country: | Iceland |
| Language: | Icelandic |
| Gross: | ISK 55 million[1] |
Devil's Island (Icelandic: '''Djöflaeyjan''') is a 1996 Icelandic film directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. It is a dark comedy filmed in the Grótta area of South west Iceland. The story depicts a group of otherwise homeless families living in barracks abandoned by the US Air Force after the Second World War. The film was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 69th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[2] [3] It was the second highest-grossing film in Iceland, behind Titanic.[1]
The film's themes include an ambivalence towards America and Americans, poverty and the accompanying social stigma, superstition and the spirit world, and a destructive family dynamic. The sound-track combines American pop (some of it performed in Icelandic) and a score by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
The film opened at number one at the Icelandic box office and went on to be the highest-grossing Icelandic film of all time and the second highest-grossing film in Iceland behind Titanic with a gross of 55 million Icelandic króna ($770,000) from 75,000 admissions.[1]