Toronto 2017: THE SWAN Exclusive, An Emotional And Visually Poetic Trailer Debut

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir's feature film debut, a coming-of-age story called The Swan, will have its world premiere here in Toronto during the opening weekend of the festival. Hjörleifsdóttir will be in town to present her film.

Screen Anarchy is pleased to premiere the trailer for this Icelandic drama. There looks like there is a lot to appreciate here as well, including an emotionally packed performance from the young Gríma Valsdóttir as Sól. The trailer is also quite visually enchanting as well. Keep an eye out for it at the festival.

Sophisticated coming-of-age drama from Iceland, THE SWAN will world premiere at TIFF in Discovery Programme. Set amidst stunning isolated landscapes and rugged terrain of remote Icelandic farmland, the film marks the feature debut of acclaimed writer/director Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir.

Adapted from Guðbergur Bergsson's celebrated novel, THE SWAN recounts nine-year-old heroine, Sól’s attempt to navigate the murky waters a new adulthood while summering on a farm during childhood to mature and become independent (an Icelandic tradition that only recently began to fade.) As the young girl struggles to understand the unbending laws of nature and life on the farm, she seeks solace in a new friendship with a mysterious farmhand, Jón. When the farmers’ rebellious daughter Ásta claims Jón as well, Sól becomes entangled in an adult drama far more complicated and callous than she ever anticipated.

Says writer/director Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir, 'The Swan is an exploration of the human heart, and the wild territory that is the life of our emotions. It’s a story about human beings lost (and found) in nature; the actual nature around, and their own heart’s nature. Our guide is Sól, a vulnerable 9-year old girl from the sea, whose arrival on this remote farm unlocks far more drama than she can imagine.'

Uniquely told from Sól's perspective—THE SWAN is a complex, and nuanced tale of a child's growth that also indirectly charts a nation's maturation.