Directing

Sturla Gunnarsson

Born 1951-01-01 · Reykjavík, Iceland

Sturla Gunnarsson is a Canadian film director. Gunnarsson was born in Iceland in 1951. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, with his parents when he was seven years old.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Beowulf & Grendel poster
5.6

The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster.

Beowulf & Grendel

2005

Beowulf & Grendel poster
5.6

The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster.

Beowulf & Grendel

2005

Ice Soldiers poster
4.9

A scientist discovers the bodies of three frozen genetically modified Russians buried in the Canadian North. Upon thawing them out he realizes he has unleashed a deadly threat to Western society and must stop them at all costs.

Ice Soldiers

2013

Scorn poster
8.0

Darren Huenemann, a spoiled 18-year old plots to have two classmates murder his mother and grandmother so he can inherit their fortunes. His worship of Caligula leads him to treat all like those in the Roman Imperial Court, manipulating, threatening and cajoling those who would stand in his way. Based on a true story of the early Nineties in British Columbia.

Scorn

2000

We the Jury poster
7.0

Jury has to decide on a murder case but some of the jurors have their own agendas or are biased. Sounds like '12 Angry Men' but this is not a remake. It's a totally fresh take on the theme. Totally different case, for example. There is no question about the identity of the culprit, the jury has to decide between manslaughter and murder. - Written by Holger Hellmuth hellmuth@ira.uka.de

We the Jury

1996

Rare Birds poster
5.3

A down-and-out restaurateur and his neighbor hatch a plan to lure bird watchers to their small Newfoundland town and increase tourism by announcing the presence of a rare duck.

Rare Birds

2001

Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie poster
NR

David Suzuki, iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a 'last lecture' — what he describes as "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die". The film interweaves the lecture with scenes from the places and events in Suzuki's life — creating a biography of ideas — forged by the major social, scientific and cultural events of the past 70 years.

Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie

2011

Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way poster
6.3

Joe Torre after failing to win a championship when he was a professional baseball player and as Manager to three teams is named Manager of the Yankees. And he finds himself having players like Dwight Gooden, Wade Boggs and Daryl Strawberry who are considered has beens. And players like David Cone who are ill. But nevertheless thinks he can win with them. At the same he deals with the loss of one brother and another brother battling the same condition that killed his brother.

Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way

1997

Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story poster
7.0

Real-life account of a Canadian hero, a determined female truck driver who took on the mob-controlled leadership of the International Teamsters Union.

Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story

1996

The Diary of Evelyn Lau poster
4.5

A teenage girl runs away from home and her very strict mother, becomes a prostitute and drug-addict, which she writes a book about.

The Diary of Evelyn Lau

1994

The Man Who Saved Christmas poster
6.2

Alfred Carlton Gilbert invented the Erector Set and is trying to get it onto the toy shelves of the country. A.C. is startled to be summoned to the White House, where top officials ask him to convert the toy factory into a weapons manufacturing company for the duration of the war. "No" is really not an option, for fear of being labeled unpatriotic so the switch is made. Later, government officials ask A.C. to be their spokesman for a campaign to avoid "toy giving" for the coming holidays and buy war bonds instead. With a young son himself, who looks forward to Christmas like any other child, what will A.C. do this time?

The Man Who Saved Christmas

2002

100 Days in the Jungle poster
6.0

100 Days in the Jungle tells the amazing true story of Canadian oil workers who were kidnapped by Colombian rebels and marched through the Ecuadorian jungle for 100 days.

100 Days in the Jungle

2002

Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol poster
8.7

Biographical story of rock idol and TV star, Ricky Nelson is recalled from the view of Ricky in a discussion with a fan just hours before his death in a plane crash in 1985.

Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol

1999

Such a Long Journey poster
6.0

The story, set in 1971 at the time of the war between India and Pakistan, is based on the novel of the same name by Rohinton Mistry, an Indian now living in Toronto. "Such a Long Journey" takes place mostly in and around a large apartment complex, its courtyard and the street, which the municipal authorities want to widen so that even more choking diesel fumes can cloud the air. We meet the hero, Gustad (Roshan Seth), in the process of defending the old concrete wall that protects his courtyard from the street, and later he strikes a bargain with an itinerant artist (Ranjit Chowdhry), who covers the wall with paintings from every conceivable religious tradition, with the thought that all of the groups represented will join in defending the wall.

Such a Long Journey

1998

The National Parks Project poster
4.0

In an increasingly urban nation, Canada’s national parks are a treasured escape into extraordinary beauty and rugged wilderness. If the Group of Seven were an introduction to the landscape’s majesty, National Parks Project is the next logical chapter. Fifty-two contemporary artists from across the country, whose talents are as diverse as the parks they set out to explore, used their surroundings as a source of inspiration to blend musical and cinematic skills into collaboratively crafted vignettes. Epic in its ambition to celebrate these locales during Parks Canada’s centennial year, this omnibus film resonates with the knowledge that our unprotected land is more vulnerable than ever. Including films by Zacharius Kunuk, Peter Lynch, Sturla Gunnarsson and John Walker, and music by Sarah Harmer, Sam Roberts, Cadence Weapon and The Besnard Lakes, among many others, National Parks Project is a one-of-a-kind documentary experience.

The National Parks Project

2011

Dangerous Evidence: The Lori Jackson Story poster
8.0

The Lori Jackson Story - A civil rights campaigner, Lori Jackson, champions the the cause of a black marine convicted of rape, as she thinks he is innocent of the crime. Based on a real case.

Dangerous Evidence: The Lori Jackson Story

1999

Diplomatic Immunity poster
6.3

A female Canadian diplomat goes on a mission to El Salvador to try smooth relations between their government and the people of a small town who risk the loss of their home.

Diplomatic Immunity

1992

Air India 182 poster
7.0

A look at one of the worst plane bombings of the 20th century. In 1985, an Air India 747 flying from Montreal, Canada to Delhi was blown up in mid-flight by Khalistani extremists. All 331 passengers were killed, most were of Indian origin.

Air India 182

2008

Air India 182 poster
7.0

A look at one of the worst plane bombings of the 20th century. In 1985, an Air India 747 flying from Montreal, Canada to Delhi was blown up in mid-flight by Khalistani extremists. All 331 passengers were killed, most were of Indian origin.

Air India 182

2008

After the Axe poster
5.1

This full-length drama depicts the reality of managers getting fired and the emergence of a new industry specialized in handling executive terminations. The film was made with the cooperation of the business community, which helped script some of the scenes and provided authentic locations. The central figure, D.R. "Biff" Wilson, 44, is a composite figure based on extensive conversations with fired executives.

After the Axe

1981

After the Axe poster
5.1

This full-length drama depicts the reality of managers getting fired and the emergence of a new industry specialized in handling executive terminations. The film was made with the cooperation of the business community, which helped script some of the scenes and provided authentic locations. The central figure, D.R. "Biff" Wilson, 44, is a composite figure based on extensive conversations with fired executives.

After the Axe

1981

Final Offer poster
8.0

The filmmakers were given remarkable freedom to record the historic 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corporation. Bob White, labour leader of the Canadian branch of the UAW, must also confront his American counterpart from Detroit and succeeds in arriving at a contract that is significantly Canadian. His members had already given him a mandate to fight for independence from the American union. This is an invaluable document for anyone interested in the complexities of United States-Canada relations. It's an extraordinary film about revolutionary events.

Final Offer

1985

Final Offer poster
8.0

The filmmakers were given remarkable freedom to record the historic 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corporation. Bob White, labour leader of the Canadian branch of the UAW, must also confront his American counterpart from Detroit and succeeds in arriving at a contract that is significantly Canadian. His members had already given him a mandate to fight for independence from the American union. This is an invaluable document for anyone interested in the complexities of United States-Canada relations. It's an extraordinary film about revolutionary events.

Final Offer

1985

Monsoon poster
NR

Part road movie, part spectacle, part drama, Monsoon is Sturla Gunnarsson's meditation on chaos, creation and faith, set in the land of believers. The subject is the monsoon, the incomparably vast weather system that permeates and unifies the varied culture of India, shaping the conditions of existence for its billion inhabitants.

Monsoon

2014