When The Light Breaks

Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson’s fourth feature is a captivating look at grief and acceptance of life’s complexities. 

Against the warm glow of sunset, students Una and Diddi plan their future, now Diddi is going to break up with his girlfriend at home. But by the next sunset, Una’s life is upturned as tragedy strikes. With their relationship remaining a secret, Una is forced to deal with her intense grief internally. Made harder by the arrival of Diddi’s girlfriend, Una must grapple with her need to grieve fully and shattering someone else's life. With a captivating lead performance from Elín Hall and striking 16mm cinematography, Rúnarsson’s fourth feature (after Volcano, Sparrow, and Echo) is a captivating look at grief and acceptance of life’s complexities.

"When the Light Breaks is the poignant and eerie reflection of a day that can be so personal, yet also so universally understood. Rúnarsson takes his dreamlike vignette of such a specific human experience and creates something so ubiquitous." - Anna Miller, Collider