Directors ramp up filming for New Year’s Eve show

Filming for Iceland’s annual New Year’s Eve show is well underway, director Allan Sigurðsson told Morgunblaðið. He is directing the programme with Hannes Þór Arason, and their production company, Atlavík, is making it.

Filming is taking place in bursts so the team can respond to breaking news and adjust the script, Sigurðsson said. Production is continuing this week and next.

The directors also worked on last year’s show. This year’s writing team includes actor Mikael Kaaber, actress Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir and comedians Snjólaug Lúðvíksdóttir, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson, known as Sveppi, and Ólafur Ásgeirsson.

Sigurðsson said there was pressure to direct a programme watched by most people in Iceland on RÚV on New Year’s Eve, many of whom have strong opinions about it. He said the atmosphere at home had been tense shortly before last year’s broadcast, but that it was fun to watch the finished show with a full room of people.

He said he sometimes checked social media to see what people thought, and had expected harsher reactions. A Maskína survey found that 90% of respondents had been pleased with last year’s show.

Sigurðsson would not say whether he expects to direct the programme for a third time, saying that would depend on how this year’s show goes. He also declined to reveal which actors will appear, saying part of the fun is being surprised. Comedian Sóli Hólm drew a strong reaction last year when he appeared as Inga Sæland, the current minister for children and education, but Sigurðsson made no promises about a return.

A photograph taken at Reykjavík City Hall shows the back of an unidentified actress who resembles Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir. The article said the mayor could appear in the programme, given the ongoing attention on city council matters.