Time and Water
“In the beginning, there was nothing, then fire and ice met. Out of the chaos, a cow rose up, made of ice and snow, and from her body emerged glaciers that carved out mountains and valleys. Rivers flowed from her udders, nourishing the world. Her ice created a home… and ice became a home for us all.”
Andri Snær Magnason read this Icelandic creation myth to his children when they were young. Using his family archives as a starting point, he transforms that myth into a fantastic story that connects deep geological time with our own lives. In this way, the film becomes a time capsule for the future, in which Iceland’s glaciers and the memories of them are kept alive.
His grandparents, Hulda and Árni, were glaciologists who spent their honeymoon on an expedition to Iceland’s largest glacier. Amid indigo-blue ice caves—images that are almost reminiscent of science fiction—we learn that blue is the color of ancient ice: “The deeper the blue, the deeper the time.” Hulda describes the scent of a glacier in the spring—difficult to describe yet exhilarating at the same time. Meanwhile, the ice is melting, and Andri bids farewell to Okjökull, the first Icelandic glacier to disappear due to climate change.
His poignant words and the overwhelming imagery captured by Dosa and her team come together to form a loving family portrait and an impressive letter to the future. A film about what we cherish and what we risk losing, made to be seen on the big screen.
- Direction
- Sara Dosa
- Cast
- Andri Snær Magnason
- RELEASE
- Thu 19 Nov
- Year
- 2026
- Country
- Iceland, United States of America
- Language
- English
Make it a full night out
At Natlab, you don’t just come for the film. You come for the whole evening. Start with good food in our café-restaurant, then head into the screening room, and stick around afterwards for a drink.
Our kitchen works with fresh, seasonal ingredients and a menu that moves with the moment. Lunch, dinner or drinks: join us whenever it suits you.
Come early. Stay late. Make a night of it.