Fri�rik ��r Fri�riksson, sometimes credited as Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, is an Icelandic film director. He started his film making career with experimental films and documentaries in the early 1980s. He founded The Icelandic Film Corporation in 1990, it has since become Iceland's most important film production company. The company produces his films and works with other Icelandic directors as well as producers. His international reputation led the company to build a network of internationally well-established co-production partner companies, including Lars von Trier's Zentropa and most recently, Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope. His second feature Children of Nature was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film and it took the Grand Prize at the 4th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in February 1993. Fri�rik also starred in Lars von Trier's 2006 comedy film The Boss of it All. He grew up in Iceland in the sixties and so was largely influenced by American films. Despite that it was exposure to the work of Akira Kurosawa, John Ford and Nicholas Ray which proved crucial in his decision to become a filmmaker. 

May 12th, 1954 in Reykjavik (Age 69)