Daughters of Iceland

Daughters of Iceland is a documentary film that explores female leadership in a time of polarisation - asking whether the way women lead can bring us together, rather than divide and conquer. To find out, we follow Kristín Grímsdóttir on a journey from Reykjavík to the place where she grew up: a hidden fishing village in the Westfjords, on the other side of the mountains, where the sun doesn't rise above the peaks for three months each winter.

Iceland is unique. Here, women lead as president, prime minister, archbishop, and heads of universities and businesses. Since Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the world's first democratically elected female president in 1980, girls have grown up knowing that leadership is not a mountain too high - in a country where you might meet the president at the swimming pool. With no military, this nation of 400,000 people has chosen well-being over growth and collaboration over competition.

Along the road, Kristín meets women whose stories reveal where this strength comes from: the fishermen's wives who ran homes and villages while the men were at sea, making female leadership simply normal; the light mothers - midwives who crossed the fjords on horseback through winter; a leader forged in the 2008 financial collapse; and women who draw their power directly from Iceland's raw and unforgiving nature.

For the journey itself becomes the answer. In the village, nature is not a backdrop - it is the economy, the clock, and the teacher. The sea gives and takes. Community is not a choice, it's how you survive. And belonging - to a place, to each other, to nature - turns out to be the foundation of a leadership built on trust, humility, and shared strength rather than dominance.

Daughters of Iceland is a quiet, powerful meditation on what we've lost in a disconnected world—and what a small island never forgot: that we lead best when we lead together.

Join us in Daughters of Iceland - a film about female leadership that heals divisions and brings us together. A film by Carl Eneroth, Stories That Unite Us (www.ssilab.se). Produced by Kristin Grimsdottir.  

The film is accompanied by a Spotify podcast series, where the filmed interviews can be viewed in full. Links coming soon.