Team Deakins
HLYNUR PÁLMASON - Writer / Director
Team Deakins
•March 4, 2026•1h 1m
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Team Deakins•Mar 4, 2026
Why It Matters
Pálmason’s journey highlights how interdisciplinary experiences and collaborative training can forge a distinct cinematic voice, offering aspiring filmmakers a roadmap for navigating limited resources. His insights into location‑driven storytelling and flexible script development underscore evolving practices in contemporary independent cinema, making the conversation especially relevant for creators seeking sustainable, creative production methods.
Key Takeaways
- •Early VHS fascination sparked lifelong visual storytelling passion.
- •Danish film school’s collaborative model shaped her directing approach.
- •Location scouting drives script development for Lenore’s films.
- •Long-term collaborators, like actor Elliot, anchor her productions.
- •Tarkovsky influence emphasizes image, sound over conventional narrative.
Pulse Analysis
Lenore Pomlesson’s journey began in Iceland and continued in Denmark, where a six‑year‑old fascination with a Dumbo VHS ignited a lifelong obsession with images and sound. After experimenting with her father’s JVC camcorder, she pursued formal training at Copenhagen’s Technic School, mastering dark‑room photography before juggling jobs as a painter, steel worker, and freelance photographer. The decisive turn came when she earned a place at the Danish Film School, a six‑person collaborative program that paired directors with producers, cinematographers, and sound designers, cementing her identity as a writer‑director rather than a cinematographer.
Pomlesson’s debut feature, *Winter Brothers*, illustrates her pragmatic approach to location‑driven storytelling. Financing arrived through the Danish Film Institute’s New Danish Screen initiative, and a limestone valley an hour from Copenhagen became the film’s singular set, allowing the script to be written around a specific space. Casting emphasizes continuity; actor Elliot Crosset, discovered during a school acting session, has appeared in multiple projects, reinforcing her belief in long‑term collaborators. While scripts undergo extensive drafting, on‑set revisions and ad‑lib moments are welcomed, creating a fluid balance between meticulous planning and spontaneous visual discovery.
The aesthetic core of Pomlesson’s work echoes Tarkovsky’s meditative cinema, prioritizing image, texture, and sound over conventional plot mechanics. Influences from *Sculpting in Time* and Icelandic shorts such as *The Last Farm* inform her use of static portrait shots that offer viewers a breath between narrative tension. This visual‑first philosophy carries into upcoming projects like *The Love That Remains*, where she continues to blend experimental photography with narrative film. For industry professionals, Pomlesson’s career underscores the value of early visual experimentation, collaborative education, and strategic location scouting in building a distinctive, internationally resonant auteur voice.
Episode Description
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 183 - Hlynur Pálmason - Writer / Director
In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with writer and director Hlynur Pálmason (THE LOVE THAT REMAINS, GODLAND, A WHITE, WHITE DAY). Throughout the episode, we get into the weeds of Hlynur's unique filmmaking process, and we learn what his strategy has been to allow himself to fund and shoot the movies he wants to make. Hlynur describes his extensive writing process, and we learn about the importance of finding his locations while in the early development stages of his scripts. Later, we discuss Hlynur's tactics for making the most out of his relatively small budgets, and he reveals how he finds the rhythm of any given film with the actors. While discussing GODLAND, we reflect on the historical relationship between Denmark and Iceland in which the film is set, and we learn what Hlynur's motivation was for making the film to begin with. After studying still photography in Copenhagen and surviving a handful of odd jobs, Hlynur enrolled in the National Film School of Denmark, and we learn why he decided to take the film school route and what he ultimately gained from the experience.
Recommended Viewing: GODLAND
This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Picture Shop
Show Notes
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