Centuries ago, humans first arrived with their livestock on the isolated Icelandic coast – a remote land pushed up against the inhospitable Arctic Ocean that has been home to generations of farmers. Úlfar and Oddny, an aging Icelandic couple, are among this legacy, completely in rhythm with the land and tuned in to the cyclical nature of farm work. As autumn approaches, and their children and grandchildren arrive from the cities to assist in the seasonal sheep herding, one thing becomes clear – this will be the family's final descent from the surrounding hills with their flock. With life in rural Iceland changing and Úlfar and Oddny growing older, the family understands this is the end of an era. Shot with a poignant reverence for both the harshness and beauty of the landscape, Fannberg's THE LAST AUTUMN bids farewell to an ancient lifestyle at the edge of the world.

The debut feature documentary from Icelandic filmmaker Yrsa Roca Fannberg, THE LAST AUTUMN had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and went on to win the Special Jury mention prize in the New Visions competition of the Reykjavik International Film Festival.

NEW YORK TIMES CRITIC'S PICK: “THE LAST AUTUMN feels like a missive from another planet, even as it chronicles the most mundane activities of terrestrial life: eating, cooking, farming, tending to animals... By the time we get to the film’s closing scenes, in which the farmers crack open the skull of a ram and lime its hide, all while exchanging fond reminiscences about the animal, this modest documentary becomes something epic – a microcosm of the eternal cycles of life.”

DIRECTED BY YRSA ROCA FANNBERG
ICELAND | 2019 | ICELANDIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES