Born 1978, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson holds an MFA in film from Columbia University, New York. His first feature EITHER WAY (2011) screened at film festivals all around the world and was re-made in the US as PRINCE AVALANCHE starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. He was selected as “Variety’s Ten European Directors to Watch” in 2012. His second feature PARIS OF THE NORTH (2014) traveled extensively after its competition premiere in Karlovy Vary. UNDER THE TREE (2017) premiered at Venice Orizzonti and Toronto, was the second highest Icelandic box office hit of the year and chosen as the local Oscar entry. In 2023, Hafsteinn’s first English language film, NORTHERN COMFORT (starring Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall and Sverrir Gudnason) premiered at SXSW, gaining wide distribution in cinemas around the world. Hafsteinn co-created, wrote and directed BALLS, his debut in television, which premiered in Iceland in the spring of 2023. The show was a smash hit in Iceland and it is currently being aired in Scandinavia to rave reviews.