The Swan

THE SWAN is Ása Helga Hjörleifsdótirr’s astonishing feature debut–A poignant and unique coming of age story set in Iceland and told from a powerful and nuanced feminine perspective.

In contemporary rural Iceland, a wayward 9-year-old girl, SÓL,is sent to distant countryside relatives for a summer to work and to mature. Nature seems endless there, the animals soulful but the people harsh. All except the mysterious farmhand, JÓN, who – as SÓL herself – likes words better than people.

But the farmer’s daughter ÁSTA has a claim on JÓN as well, and soon SÓL becomes entangled in a drama she hardly can grasp. This summer marks SÓL’s rite of passage into the murky waters of adulthood, and the wild nature in us all.