22.04. ‐ 27.04.2025
Beautiful Beings

Beautiful Beings (Berdreymi)

Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

Fourteen year old Balli is bullied by his classmates every day. His dysfunctional home-life also doesn’t make life any easier: his mother is a drug addict, his step-father is violent, the house they live in is filthy and dilapidated. Alienated from the outside world, Balli lives the sad and lonely life of an outsider. That is until he becomes friends with three boys his age who share a similar fate. The group takes him in and an intimate friendship gradually develops between them. For the first time, Balli is able to connect with others, especially with Addi, who shows him great compassion. Left to their own devices, the boys experience aggression and violence, experiment with drugs, party together, but also learn about loyalty and love in the process. At the same time, Balli is increasingly more terrorized by his step-father, who gave him a glass eye when he was a child because he thought that ''the gun wasn't loaded''. The boys' behavior eventually leads them into other life-threatening situations.

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Direction Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Country Iceland
Year 2022
Duration 123 min
Language Original with English Subtitles
Production Anton Máni Svansson
Cast Birgir Dagur Bjarkason, Áskell Einar Pálmason, Viktor Benóný Benediktsson, Snorri Rafn Frímannsson, Aníta Briem, Ísgerður Gunnarsdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson
Camera Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
Script Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Editing Andri Steinn Gudjónsson, Anders Skov
Music Kristian Eidnes Andersen


Berlinale 2022 - Winner Europe Cinema Label

Press Reviews

Eye for Film: „a compelling mix of warmth and darkness that will shake you up before it will melt your heart.”



International Feature Film Program

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