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Contact Sunna at
sunna@bjartsyn.is
Director Álfrún Helga Örnólfsdóttir
Written by Vala Þórsdóttir, Álfrún Helga Örnólfsdóttir, Aleksandra Świerk
Suppported by Icelandic Film Centre, RÚV and EAVE
Principal photography is currently planned for 2027.
Ten-year-old Polish-Icelandic Jagoda lives in the seaside village of Höfn with her imaginary spider friend Rósalína. When a classmate mocks her Polish heritage once too often, her parents decide to move to Reykjavík. Eager to fit in at her new school, Jagoda creates a double identity: at home she is herself, but at school she becomes Hallgerður—entirely Icelandic.
At school, she invents a glamorous backstory for her new identity while her Polish grandparents welcome her with open arms and introduce her to Polish customs. For a school assignment, she creates two family trees—a real one with the help of her grandmother and a fake one for her new Icelandic identity.
Her double life intensifies through Easter celebrations, and when a school assignment forces her to present her family tree, Grandma arrives unannounced and witnesses the lie, and her world falls apart. Jagoda lashes out and runs from everyone, but when fire breaks out in her grandparents' flat, Jagoda comes back just in time and rescues them with Rósalína's help. Her heroism earns public praise as "Hallgerður, Iceland's ten-year-old hero." At the hospital, she reconciles with her grandparents and begins embracing both sides of herself.
Finally, Jagoda confesses to her class, sharing both Polish and Icelandic family stories. Friendships solidify with her cousin Pétur and new friends Dagný, and Agnieszka. In a vibrant mix of Polish punk and communal joy, Jagoda realises she need not choose between identities—she can be both brave and true.