Dreamland

2009, Þorfinnur Guðnason, Andri Snær Magnason, 89 minutes, Iceland

Dreamland is about a nation at a crossroads. In the lead up to the country’s greatest economic crisis, the government started the largest construction project in the history of Iceland: the biggest dam in Europe, providing mining giant Alcoa cheap electricity for an aluminum smelter in the rugged east fjords of Iceland. At the time the government’s mantra was economic growth. Today Iceland is left with a huge debt and an uncertain future.

Þorfinnur Guðnason (also known as Thorfinnur Gudnason) graduated from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1987. He is a talented documentary filmmaker and Iceland’s most established filmmaker in the field. He has made many award-winning documentaries with worldwide distribution, including work for National Geographic, TBS, ARTE, ZDF, NRK, TVP, Discovery Europe, and others.

Andri Snær Magnason (b. 1973, Reykjavík) is an Icelandic writer. He has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays, and albums. His work has been published or performed in more than sixteen countries.

In Dreamland, a nation with an abundance of economic choices gradually becomes caught up in a plan to turn its pristine wilderness into a massive system of hydroelectric and geothermal power plants using dams and reservoirs. Iceland’s clean energy project paradoxically leads to a massive influx of polluting industries and international corporations—the dark side of green energy.

Edda Awards, Documentary of the Year, 2010