Baltasar Kormákur

Baltasar Kormákur Baltasarsson was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. His father is the Spanish painter Baltasar Samper, and his mother is Kristjana Guðnadóttir Samper.^[1]

In 1999, Baltasar founded the film production company Blueeyes with his then wife, Lilja Pálmadóttir. Agnes Johansen (1958–2025) was another producer at the company, and Daði Einarsson joined later.^[2]

For his film Jar City, Baltasar won the Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2007.

In December 2011, the production of drama film Rocketman was announced, with Baltasar Kormákur and Dagur Kári set to direct.^[3][4]

Baltasar's 2012 film The Deep was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards,^[5] making the January shortlist.^[6]

In January 2013, it was announced that a new film, Rocketman, would be produced by Baltasar with his partner Agnes Johansen,^[7] with Danish production company Nimbus Film co-producing. The film's expected release was 2015.^[2]

In February 2015, it was announced that his next film would be the crime-thriller The Oath,^[8] which is based on a script by actor Ólafur Egilsson.^[9]

In 2020, Baltasar began production of the Netflix science fiction series Katla.^[10]

His 2024 film Touch, based on the eponymous novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, became the closing film at Filmfest München.^[11]

Baltasar's first wife was Lilja Pálmadóttir,^[2] and their son is actor Baltasar Breki Samper. In 2019, they announced their separation after a 20-year relationship.^[12] Later that year, newspapers reported that Baltasar had begun a relationship with set designer Sunneva Ása Weisshappel.^[13]