Between 2020 and 2021, the Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason filmed his three children building a tree house in their backyard. Using a fixed frame, his lockdown project yielded a fascinating study of the seasons grounded in the leisurely rhythms of kids at play. To celebrate his latest feature film’s inclusion in the 63rd New York Film Festival’s Main Slate, the family drama The Love That Remains, we’re proud to spotlight the beautiful short he directed prior to making his new film.

Pálmason’s Nest is a deceptively simple film, made as a collaboration between father and children. While the bulk of the film observes the real-life construction of the kids’ tree house, Pálmason sneaks in little scenes of fiction to introduce an element of mystery in its fold. According to him, “sometimes [he] had an idea, something they had an idea” and while filming the construction, they jointly found themselves piecing together a narrative that spoke to the unexpected hardships of building a tree house.

“I really wanted to do something that was more immediate, where I could capture things, where I could be more spontaneous, where I could capture the seasons, the weather, and just walk outside the garden and film whatever I wanted.” HLYNUR PÁLMASON

This quasi-improvisational approach to filmmaking is key to Pálmason’s practice. Godland, the film he directed right before making Nest, was put together in a similar fashion, with Pálmason stating that “not knowing where to go” made his film “exciting, because I think that reflects or it colors the film.” Nest — in spite of its rigorous, formal camerawork — works in similarly mysterious ways, slowly unfurling surprises that transform the straightforward task of looking at the same frame into a thrilling experience.

Hlynur Pálmason was born in Höfn í Hornafirði, Iceland, in 1984. After studying at the National Film School of Denmark in Copenhagen, Pálmason returned to Iceland and directed a series of thoughtful and provocative short films. In 2017, his feature debut Winter Brothers premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and two years later, his follow-up, A White, White Day, earned him a Rising Star Award at Cannes. Pálmason’s most recent efforts have continued screening at Cannes, often earning praise for their unique slipstream quality and keen observation of family dynamics.

Text written by Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer. Special thanks to Nela Zielinska and Caroline Friedman.