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A freckled red-headed woman stands on a porch.

When the Light Breaks Ljósbrot

  Rúnar Rúnarsson

  Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia, France     82 minutes

Synopsis

Spanning one sunset to another, When the Light Breaks is a whisper-quiet rumination on love, beauty, and human perseverance in the face of disaster. Two lovers, Una and Diddi, look toward the horizon at the end of a long Icelandic summer day. Una, a passionate performance art student, dreams of the future, which begins with the two lovers announcing their well-kept secret relationship to their friends. Then a sudden, devastating tragedy befalls Reykjavík, and Una and her friends are forced to reckon with a broken new reality. Visionary director Rúnar Rúnarsson (Sparrows, 2015) deploys a haunting score while training his expressive, incisive camera on a talented young cast to create an intimate, hushed examination of loss and grief.

  

 Icelandic with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sun, Oct 20 @ 5:00pm CDT

at Gene Siskel Film Center, screen 1

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Rúnar Rúnarsson
Accessibility options for this screening:
  • Assistive Listening Devices available
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Screening

Mon, Oct 21 @ 5:30pm CDT

at AMC NEWCITY 14, screen 13

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Rúnar Rúnarsson

Media

Film Credits

  •   Heather Millard, Rúnar Rúnarsson
  •   Rúnar Rúnarsson
  •   Andri Steinn Guðjónsson
  •   Sophia Olsson FSF
  •   Elín Hall, Mikael Kaaber, Katla Njálsdóttir, Baldur Einarsson, Ágúst Wigum, Gunnar Hrafn Kristjánsson
  •   Jóhann Jóhannsson
  •   Þórður Jónsson, Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir, Claudia Hausfeld
  •   Compass Films, Halibut, Revolver Amsterdam, MP Film, Eaux Vives Productions, Jour2Fête
  •   https://www.thepartysales.com/movie/when-the-light-breaks/

Sponsors

International Competition Program Patron

Jacolyn and John Bucksbaum Family Foundation