Elín Hall Wins Actress of the Year for When the Light Breaks
Elín Hall has been named Actress of the Year in a Leading Role at the 2025 Edda Awards for her performance in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s When the Light Breaks (Ljósbrot).
Elín leads the film as Una, a young art student forced to grieve the sudden death of her first love in secrecy. Taking place over the course of a single summer day in Reykjavík, the film follows Una as she navigates private loss, friendship and the arrival of Klara—the girlfriend who never knew about Una and Diddi’s relationship. Built largely around silence and unspoken emotion, the role required Elín to carry much of the film through physical expression, breath and restraint. Rúnarsson has described her as an actor with “the talent of transmitting the unsaid things,” while critics have singled out the quiet intensity and emotional precision of her performance.
When the Light Breaks received its world premiere on 15 May 2024 as the opening film of Un Certain Regard at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The premiere brought Elín significant international attention, with Vogue Scandinavia naming her a “Cannes breakout” following her leading performance.
The film continued its international festival run through Karlovy Vary, Munich, London, Chicago and several other major festivals. At the 60th Chicago International Film Festival, Elín received the Silver Hugo for Best Actress. The festival jury described her as “a commanding performer who grips the audience with her quiet depiction of an overwhelming loss.”
Her performance also led to her selection as Iceland’s European Shooting Star for 2025, an international programme recognising ten of Europe’s most promising acting talents. The jury praised the way Elín carries the film, describing her as an “intelligent, natural performer” and an “obvious Shooting Star.”
Alongside the recognition for Elín’s performance, When the Light Breaks won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival. The jury celebrated its sensitive treatment of grief and the performances of its “perfect young ensemble.”
The film concluded its Edda Awards run with five wins, including Film of the Year, Director of the Year, Actress of the Year in a Leading Role for Elín, Actress of the Year in a Supporting Role for Katla Njálsdóttir and Visual Effects of the Year.
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