Film Locations in West and Southwest Iceland

What are the film Locations in West and Southwest Iceland? One of those places is the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, which is sometimes said to have everything Iceland offers in one location, and it is true! There are volcanos, glaciers, hot springs, lava fields, beaches (both black and white), great animal life, and beautiful fields and mountains. No wonder the peninsula is a popular destination for filming crews!

Of the filming locations in West and Southwest Iceland, Snæfellsnes is without a doubt the most popular – even more popular than the Capital Area. 

Game of Thrones

Of course, Game of Thrones was also filmed in West Iceland (as well as South and North Iceland). When the heroes of the TV show go north of the wall, you can see The Arrowhead Mountain in episode 6 of season 7. It could also be seen in episode 5 of season 6, along with Kirkjufell’s waterfall, when the children of the forest created the first White Walker.

Game of Thrones can probably be credited with increasing the mountain’s popularity. Making it the Instagram-worthy location it is today.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Stykkishólmur – Photo: Natale Carioni from Saronno, Italy, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Ben Stiller film Secret Life of Walter Mitty was largely filmed in Iceland. Scenes were supposed to happen in Iceland, as well as Greenland, Afghanistan, Yemen, or the Himalayas were filmed in Iceland.

Stykkishólmur in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula stood in for Greenland in the film. Grundarfjörður, another town on Snæfellsnes and close to Stykkishólmur, was used as the filming location for the port where Walter arrives after boarding the boat Erkigsnek in Greenland.

In Garður on the Reykjanes Peninsula, he took a leap of faith and jumped into the cold North Atlantic Ocean.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Of course, the famous Jules Verne story happens in Snæfellsnes Glacier, so it’s no wonder the film, starring Brendan Fraser and Aníta Briem, was shot there.

The scenes happening inside the glacier, however, were not shot here.

Fast and Furious 8

Iceland in April
Lighthouses in Akranes, in April

The 8th installment in the franchise was not only filmed in North Iceland but also in the small town of Akranes, just outside of Reykjavik.

The town’s old cement factory – which now has been torn down, played an important role in the film. The people of Akranes were very proud that their town had been chosen as a location. They even got a special viewing of the movie before it was formally premiered.

Justice League

This is the only film on this list to have been filmed in the Westfjords. The home of Aquaman was in Djúpavík in the Westfjords. Many Icelandic actors can be seen in the scenes and even speak Icelandic. As so often is the case, those not native Icelanders were almost entirely incomprehensible.

Black Mirror

The “Crocodile” episode of the dystopian TV show Black Mirror was shot in Iceland. The 4th season episode was shot in both Reykjavik and Kleifarvatn Lake, which is about 30 minutes away from Reykjavik. Kleifarvatn was also the setting for Arnaldur Indriðason’s crime thriller The Draining Lake, which we recommend you check out!

The Fifth Estate

The Benedict Cumberbatch film The Fifth Estate was partly shot in Iceland. The film tells the story of WikiLeaks, and scenes were shot both in downtown Reykjavik (Austurvöllur, for example) and in the Blue Lagoon.

The Girl in the Café

The David Yates made-for-TV (BBC One) film The Girl In the Café was shot in Reykjavik. One of the very few films shot in Iceland to only use Reykjavik as its setting. The film stars Bill Nighy as a civil servant who falls in love with Kelly Macdonald, a young woman he meets by chance at a London café.

He invites her to the G8 summit in Reykjavik. There she confronts the British Prime minister over the issue of third-world debt and poverty in Africa. After much embarrassment, he realizes she was right all along. And tries to convince people at the summit to do something about these issues.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Of course, there were scenes in the Will Farrell Eurovision film shot in Reykjavik. The Icelandic Song Contest was filmed in Gamla Bíó, and the headquarters were at the University of Iceland. Then you can see the Reykjavik harbor and other locations as well!

Sense8

Reykjavik University – Photo: Jeff Hitchcock

The Netflix TV show Sense8 was partly filmed in Reykjavik and Iceland, as one of the characters was Icelandic.

Among the places you can see are the Keflavík Internation Airport, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik Harbour, Harpa Concert Hall, Hallgrímskirkja Church, and the Hvalfjarðargöng tunnel.

This was our list of film locations in West and Southwest Iceland. Did we forget any? Please let us know!

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