Helena’s original idea for Natatorium started with a short film she had made about a pair of half siblings who had a form of a sexual relationship without crossing any lines.

“Then I started to build a family around them – that’s how it started. I made it a short film because it’s very tragic and it happens a lot” the director explains. “In Iceland, it’s extremely important that they know that they’re siblings and this basically happened to me when I was a child because I was raised in a small town, my father had two children, and in the same year, my brother and I fell in love, we became so close we were like twins.”

But as Helena continued to build this story, the idea of siblings being in love fell slightly to the wayside as her focus extended to this family holed up in a dark and mysterious house which seems to hold some forbidden secrets.

Anyone familiar with Iceland films and books will know how skilled they are at bringing family dramas to life in an engaging and thrilling manner which is exactly what Natatorium does – a slow burn that resides with you long after.

It took the director a long time to get the film underway: “I finished the script in 2018, and then I started to look for a producer. During that time I did a lot of other stuff with some short films and then also a documentary“.

The director also worked in the theatre as a video artist – keeping herself busy as she continues with the long process of bringing the film to life.

One of the big parts of the film belongs to the house that the film centres around – we are briefly outside it at the beginning but after that we are indoors for the remainder of the film and it is quite a fascinating house that almost feels as alive as the people residing inside it.

“I was determined that we needed to build a house in a studio because the house is almost like a character in the film. It’s like the monster of the film where everything is claustrophobic. And I really thought that I need to have the house exactly as I visualize it in my mind. So I got the set designer on board who is, uh, a bit of a nerd.”

A nerd who has been responsible for some serious work around Iceland – such as giving the town of Selfoss a bit of a makeover and he was also involved with designing the Sky Lagoon. That designer is Snorri Freyr Hilmarsson, whose film work includes the likes of Lamb and Woman at War, was a great addition to the crew in bringing Helena’s house to life.

“Of course there was a budget issue, but I was really, really determined that I could not do this in any house – it had to be like the one I had imagined where the camera can move from one space to another“, the director explains moving her hands. “I wanted to make the audience feel that even if we’re in one space, we need to feel that there’s something going on in another space in the house.”

With the film opening to kaleidoscopic images that both confuse and intrigue you, you soon realise that these are images of the house, which we then soon are introduced to when our main character Lilja arrives and begins to parade around the house – which seems a little unusual to most houses, even boutique hotels!

“Snorri felt that the audience should feel that they are somehow underwater or in a forest!“

Lilja is one of our main characters, a granddaughter who visits her grandparents’ house, much against her father’s will. Unaware of the history with the family, Lilja settles in but she slowly begins to pick up that something isn’t quite right – especially when she sees her grandmother bathing in a hidden swimming pool in the basement.

Ilmur’s performance is a solid one, especially as it is her debut. It is always quite special to discover a talent that has not been seen before when it comes to an Iceland series or film so discovering her must have been quite a task.

“We auditioned with maybe 14 people but it was not fully working for me – I liked to meet them and see if I could feel the vibe with them, but nothing was really connecting.”

After a while of no success Helena discovered someone they thought would be perfect for the role – she got her to send in a self tape which lead to an audition where the casting director declared that she was perfect for the role.

“What they didn’t know at the time was that it was in fact my daughter,” the director smiles dropping a twist in the story of making the film that I did not know. ”I was scared to cast her even though I knew that she would be perfect for the role. That was why I made sure we tried a number of people before, and her afterwards, just to be sure.”

Ilmur María Arnardóttir, who is currently studying drama here in the UK, jumped at the opportunity which gave her some fantastic experience. IImur is joined by a fantastic cast which include; Elin Petersdottir, Valur Freryr Einarsson, Jónas Alfreð Birkisson, and Stefania Berndsen.

Icelandic film and TV series have not had much of a release in the UK – last year saw Godland and a handful of other titles released, but not a lot, with many wondering whether there is any interest in releasing outside of Iceland. 2024 looks to hopefully get things back on track with the likes of Driving Mum getting a release and hopefully further titles such as Cold and The Home Game documentary.

“It might sound naive but I am not interested in the box office as much as I am making sure as many people get to see my film, that is more important to me.”

The director echoes the thoughts and feelings of many other Nordic artists whose films sometimes don’t go much further than their home country, or at least within the Nordic regions, and it is exactly what Nordic Watchlist is here to champion.

Natatorium is a quirky, dark piece of cinema that sees its director toy with visuals and taboo narratives. It is an outstanding debut that packs a punch that you might not feel for a few days. We are incredibly excited to see what Helena goes on to do next.

Natatorium had its first European premier at Rottingdam Film Festival and will begin its journey over the course of the year.