How Iceland Resumed Production Mid-Pandemic – and Hopes to Bring in Foreign Crews in May

“Katla,” a new Icelandic Netflix series from “Adrift” director Baltasar Kormákur, is in production right now — one of the only film or TV productions of any kind happening anywhere in the world. How is that possible? The Icelandic film industry is proceeding very carefully, with safety and testing protocols that could potentially be a model for productions worldwide — or at least for foreign crews that might be allowed to shoot in Iceland as early as next month. It’s also possible because Iceland, with its population of just over 364,000 and many wide-open underpopulated spaces, has been largely spared in the coronavirus pandemic — reporting just over 1,700 cases and 10 deaths so far (with widespread testing of residents).