The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole

A bipolar musical documentary with elephants

The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole Follow Anna Tara Edwards, an Icelander raised in Nepal, and Högni Egilsson, a legendary musician, as they journey to Anna’s childhood home in the mountain jungles to explore the afflictions and ‘superpowers’ that come with bipolar disorder. Part road movie, part musical, part serious inquiry into the caverns of the mind, The Hero’s Journey To The Third Pole is at once an artful, sensitive, and amusing examination of mental health told through an unexpected story of friendship.


 The Hero's Journey to the 3rd Pole
(2020) on IMDb

Festivals and Awards
Laurel Winner of Best Documentary | Buenos Aires International film Festival
Laurel Official Selection | Millennium Docs Against Gravity
Laurel Official Selection | HerDocs
Laurel Official Selection | Beldocs
Laurel World Premier | CPH:DOX
Laurel Icelandic Premier | Reykjavík International Film Festival
Laurel Nominated for 5 EDDA Awards | Icelandic Film and Television Academy

The Producers


Anní Ólafsdóttir - Director/Cinematographer/Editor

Anní Ólafsdóttir is a visual artist and film maker, nominated for four EDDA Awards for the Third Pole. Best script, best editing, best director and best cinematographer. Anní has worked as a freelance filmmaker and visual artist since 2012. She has worked as a director, cinematographer, art-director and editor for a number of TV shows, music videos, short films and visual art projects. One of her recent projects as a cinematographer was Sacrifice, a collaboration of visual artist Matthew Barney and the Iceland Dance Company. She has created music videos for a number of prominent musicians, including Mammút, Oscar Award Winner Marketa Irglova, the official music video for Blk Diamond by Zebra Katz x Leila, which was selected as the best music video of the year at the Berlin Music Video Awards in 2016. Apausalypse is her second Documentary premiered in Reykjavík, May 2021, also codirected with Andri Snær Magnason.


Andri Snær Magnason - Director

Andri is one of Iceland’s most celebrated writers. Among his work are novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays and he is a popular public speaker. His work has been published or performed in more than 40 countries. He is the co-director of Dreamland (2009), one of Iceland’s most influential and acclaimed documentaries, made with Þorfinnur Guðnason. Andri received the Kairos award of 2010, awarded by the Alfred Toepfer Institute and has received numerous literary prizes for his work, both in Iceland and internationally. He is the only person to win the Icelandic Literary Award in all categories, fiction, non fiction and childrens literature. His novel LoveStar recieved The Philip K Dick Honorary Mention 2014 and Le Grand Prix l'Imaginaire for best translated Sci-Fi in France 2016. Andri has created radio work for the BBC, and contributed to the Oscar Award Winning documentary Inside Job by Charles Ferguson. His latest non fiction book - On Time and Water is coming out in 30 languages in 2020/2022 and shortlisted for The Nordic Councils Literary Award 2021. Andri Snær is nominated for two EDDA awards for The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole. Director of the year and best script. Apausalypse, also codirected with Anni Ólafsdóttir premiered in Reykjavík May 2021.

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