Olaf de Fleur

Olaf de Fleur (real name: Ólafur Jóhannesson) is an Icelandic film director, scriptwriter and producer.

Born in 1975 in Búðardalur, Iceland, Olaf has been a dedicated filmmaker for over a decade. He founded his own independent production company, Poppoli Pictures, in 2003 after having worked on several TV documentaries under another production company. Poppoli’s first production, Shining Star, brought him Best Documentary Feature award at the Icelandic Film Awards (The Edda) in 2004. Shining Star is an autobiographical story of Icelandic rock icon Bubbi Morthens. He won the award again in 2005 for the feature documentary Africa United, which follows the formation of a football team of immigrants from all over the world who intend to take the Icelandic 3rd division by storm. It is an enchanting journey into the dreams and aspirations of a football-crazy coach and his colorful ensemble of players who have to overcome their egos for a true team spirit. His third documentary, entitled Act Normal, saw release in 2006. It is a film about a Buddhist monk who in the 10 years that took to film the project, disrobes, marries and divorces before becoming a monk again. Olaf commenced that project years before founding Poppoli Pictures, when as a young man he was exploring the Buddhist way.

Olaf wrote and directed his first feature film The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela which won him the Teddy award for Best Feature at the Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) in 2008 where it was presented in the Panorama section of the festival. The film travelled the festival circuit for over two years, has won numerous awards internationally and received the Best Nordic Council Film Prize nomination in 2009. It received the Grand Jury Prize in the 10th 2008 Cinemanila International Film Festival at Malacañan Palace's Kalayaan Hall. Furthermore, it has won “Best Feature” and “Showtime Vanguard Award” at the New York LGBT International Film Festival and as well as the “Special contribution to cinema language” award at Cinemacity in Serbia in 2008. The film depicts the life of Raquela, a Filipino transgender girl, born in the wrong male body. She dreams of escaping her life of internet porn and hustling in Cebu, Philippines, for a fairytale life in Paris. But first she must take an unexpected detour.

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