Hilmar Oddsson — Director | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Hilmar Oddsson (born 19 January 1957; Reykjavík) is an Icelandic film director, screenwriter, film producer and musician. Hilmar was born in 1957, as the first child of the playwright and theatre director Oddur Björnsson (1932-2011) and his first wife Borghildur Thors (born 1933). He has a younger sister (born 1958). He attended school at Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík, where he was active in the theatre club. Until 1986 he studied at the University of Television and Film Munich.

This was followed by his first directing work, for which he also wrote the screenplays. In 1995, Hilmar Oddsson made a biopic about Icelandic composer Jón Leifs called Tears of Stone (Tár úr steini). Hilmar won the Edda Award for Best Director (Leikstjóri ársins) and Edda Award for Best Film (Bíómynd ársins) in 2004 for his work Cold Light (Kaldaljós). His other films include The Beast and No Trace. In addition to his feature films, Hilmar Oddsson was involved in the creation of numerous television reports, video clips and commercials. From 2004 to 2006 he was chairman of the Icelandic Directors' Guild (Samtök kvikmyndaleikstjóra).

Besides his work as a filmmaker, Hilmar Oddsson is also a musician. He also played both guitar and keyboard in the band Melchior since 1973, releasing three albums. He composed the film music for his film The Beast (Eins og skepnan deyr). In 1989, Hilmar Oddsson released the solo album Og augun opnast. From 1998 to 2006, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.[1] Hilmar Oddsson was Dean of the Icelandic Film School (Kvikmyndaskóli Íslands) from 2010 to 2017.

His married to actress Þórey Sigþórsdóttir and has two children, including actress Hera Hilmar.