Iceland

After doubling as an Alaskan town in HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, Iceland also provided the backdrop for the fictional Isle of Berk in DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon. The live-action remake spent two weeks on an informal location scout before setting up a week-long plate and scanning shoot with local production service outfit Truenorth in April 2023. The VFX scanning and texture shots were then used during production at Belfast Studios and Titanic Studios in Northern Ireland.

“We were creating a fictitious island for our story that was beautiful but in a harsh environment for people to live,” says UK-based David Cain, who produced the Universal Studios film alongside Marc Platt and Adam Siegel. “We drew inspiration from Iceland to help create this world. It is a very efficient place to shoot. I have done so numerous times on different productions and always had a positive experience.” The project was also able to access Iceland’s incentive, which was “incredibly easy and user friendly”, while the shoot itself featured 12 local crew providing essential on-the-ground support and co-ordination. 

This kind of production was particularly challenging for production service provider Truenorth. “These landscapes weren’t just scenery — they played a central role in bringing the narrative to life, serving as the mythical homes of both the dragons and the Vikings,” says Truenorth CEO Leifur Dagfinnson. “Every element of the environment had to feel authentic and believable within that world. That meant capturing the weather, the shifting natural light, even the specific textures and shapes of rock formations with meticulous precision. 

“Each detail mattered, as the landscapes were as much a character in the film as the ones with dialogue,” he continues. “Matching the emotional tone of the story with the raw beauty of the locations required a careful balance of creativity, technical planning and respect for the natural environment.”

Another big-budget production to shoot plates in Iceland was Mickey 17, Bong Joon Ho’s first English-language feature for Warner Bros, starring Robert Pattinson. The plate shoot phase involved three standard-definition shoots conducted on a glacier, capturing essential background elements and environmental references. This was followed by a two-day aerial shoot using a helicopter on the glacier several months later, acquiring dynamic overhead footage and expansive landscape plates to support the visual storytelling and post-production needs of the project.

A small crew was assembled for both shooting periods, with four people participating in the first, focusing on standard plate and ground-based footage. The team expanded to seven members for the latter shoot, supporting the more complex helicopter filming on the glacier. 

Changeable and extreme weather often present a challenge in Iceland. “Conditions can change quickly, so flexibility is important,” says Truenorth’s Dagfinnsson of filming on the glacier for Mickey 17. “But with the right planning and local expertise, everything runs smoothly.”

Iceland-Portugal co-production Cold Haven shot in Reykjavik and Vestmannaeyjar, the archipelago off Iceland’s south coast, from September to November 2024, as well as Portugal. During the series’ Icelandic shoot, Andri Omarsson, CEO of production company Glassriver, says that in addition to approximately 65 Icelandic crew, they had one member from Portugal. “Even though the genre and style of Icelandic and Portuguese television tends to differ, we were able to come to a mutual agreement on the series’ style and visuals. This co-production gave the series the diversity it needed to portray the two different locations and lifestyles,” says Omarsson.

Iceland has a strong track record of co-productions due to its international connections with bodies such as Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Eurimages and Creative Europe. Iceland is also party to an audiovisual co-production agreement with Canada and bilateral co-production agreements with the UK and France.

Other recent productions to shoot in Iceland include Ugla Hauksdottir’s volcano thriller The Fires for Bankside Films, and Warner Bros’ Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, starring Milly Alcock as the titular superhero, supported by Truenorth.

Iceland offers some of the world’s most breathtaking and cinematic landscapes, with dramatic glaciers, volcanic highlands and black sand beaches in locations across the country. Reynisfjara beach in southern Iceland is especially dramatic, and has played host to HBO’s Game Of Thrones and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Iceland also has rugged lava fields, waterfalls, lakes and lagoons. The inland highland is a tundra spotted by ponds, active geysers, fumaroles and sulfur mountains. 

In addition to its unique and varied landscapes, the light in Iceland makes for longer filming days. Between mid-May and mid-August, the sun sets for around three hours. Despite the country’s reputation for frigid snow, Iceland has a moderate climate year-round thanks to the gulf stream. Winters can be mild and the summers cool, with ideal temperatures from the middle of June through to August. January is the coldest month.

"The contrast of the Icelandic nature and sheer beauty can be overwhelming many times for the directors and the creatives when going on a location scout. It's like taking kids to the toy store. They want everything, and then change their selection again and again," says Bui Baldvinsson at experienced local production servicer providers Hero Productions. "Accessibility to our glaciers and ice caves can be fairly easy with the correct transportation and short distances between locations is what makes Iceland perfect for filming."

Iceland has a growing base of trusted and renowned production service companies and studios. Chief among are them are Baltasar Kormakur’s RVK Studios, which features a film village that offers studio facilities, production capabilities, equipment rentals and VFX/post-production as well as its own production services outfit. 

Other key production service companies include Truenorth, Sagafilm, Pegasus Pictures and Hero Productions. The latter provides production services across film, TV series, documentary and photo shoots. Clients include Netflix, Walt Disney, BBC and Mercedes. 

With less studio space than some other European countries, Iceland has repurposed warehouses to serve as soundstages, as used on HBO’s True Detective: Night Country.

Crew in Iceland are known for being flexible and well-rounded and have experience working in all types of weather conditions. 

Iceland is a compact 40,000 square miles but has diverse landscapes beyond the famous snow-capped glaciers. The rugged landscapes are surprisingly accessible, but the assistance of a local production service company is essential.

Getting to Iceland is easy, with daily connections available at most major international airports in Europe and the US. It takes about five or six hours from North America’s east coast to Iceland, and two-and-a-half to three hours from Europe.

First person to contact

Einar Hansen Tomasson, Iceland film commissioner: einar@invest.is