Dagur Kári (born Dagur Kári Pétursson; 12 December 1973; Paris) is an Icelandic film director. He was born in Paris, France, to Icelandic parents. The family returned to Iceland when he was 3 years old. After attending local schools as a child, Kári went to Denmark for college. He graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1999, having created the art house short movie Lost Weekend. The film won 11 prizes on the international festival circuit. Kari's first feature film Noi the Albino (Nói albínói, 2003) won several international awards. His second film, Voksne mennesker (Dark Horse, 2005) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, he finished his first English-language film The Good Heart, starring Americans Brian Cox and Paul Dano, and French actress Isild Le Besco. He is also a member of the band Slowblow. He featured their music in Nói albínói. In December 2011 it was announced to produce a drama film Rocketman, which eventually became Virgin Mountain, with Baltasar Kormákur and Dagur Kári was set to direct the film. In January 2013 it is again announced that film will be produced by Kormákur with his partner Agnes Johansen. Denmark's Nimbus Film will co-produce the film. Film's production started in February and will be filmed in the end of 2013, is expected to release in 2015.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 12, 1973 (52)
- Paris, Frankrig
- Director, writer, composer and producer, also actor and editor
- 10 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
What are Dagur Kári's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 2
Grounded 8 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 6 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 3
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet8
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Dagur Kári's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Dagur Kári's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
21 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Danefæ (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
I'll Be Your Mirror(2022)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Hygge! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Borgen - Power & Glory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Welcome to Utmark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
The Day We Died(2020)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Norskov(2015)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Virgin Mountain(2015)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Dawn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
A Normal Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Undercurrent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
The Good Heart(2009)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Dark Horse(2005)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Noi the Albino(2003)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Dramarama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Lost Weekend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Old Spice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
The Violinmaker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Career shape
A full career of 20 titles from 1997 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Noi the Albino (2003)
Highest rated
Virgin Mountain (2015)
Most popular right now
Norskov (2015)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Dagur Kári's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 48th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th4
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 67/100 and the pacing 42/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Dagur Kári work with?
People who share at least 2 of Dagur Kári's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rasmus Videbæk shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Lars Kristian AndersenShared titles: The Day We Died (2020), Norskov (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Lars Kristian Andersen
Actors
- Nicolaj KopernikusShared titles: The Day We Died (2020), Dark Horse (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Nicolaj Kopernikus
- Þorsteinn GunnarssonShared titles: Virgin Mountain (2015), Noi the Albino (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Þorsteinn Gunnarsson
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Rasmus VidebækShared titles: Virgin Mountain (2015), The Good Heart (2009), Noi the Albino (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Rasmus Videbæk
- Andri Steinn GuðjónssonShared titles: Virgin Mountain (2015), The Good Heart (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Andri Steinn Guðjónsson
- Orri JonssonShared titles: The Good Heart (2009), Noi the Albino (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Orri Jonsson
- Daniel DencikShared titles: Dark Horse (2005), Noi the Albino (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Daniel Dencik
Producers
- Lone ScherfigShared titles: The Day We Died (2020), The Kindness of Strangers (2019), Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Lone Scherfig
- Malene BlenkovShared titles: The Day We Died (2020), The Kindness of Strangers (2019), Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Malene Blenkov
- Ole Christian MadsenShared titles: The Day We Died (2020), The Kindness of Strangers (2019), Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Ole Christian Madsen
- Bo EhrhardtShared titles: Virgin Mountain (2015), The Good Heart (2009), Dark Horse (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Bo Ehrhardt
Mixed roles
- Per FlyShared titles: The Kindness of Strangers (2019), Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Per Fly
