Óskar Jónasson was born in Reykjavík on June 30 1963. His 1992 feature film debut "Sódóma Reykjavík" ("Remote Control") was invited into the "Un Certain Regard" section of the Cannes International Film Festival. Despite this success, Jónasson then focused predominately on television and over the years, he wrote and directed several award-winning series and TV movies.

In 2008, he returned to feature filmmaking with the thriller "Reykjavík Rotterdam", which went on to win the Icelandic Film Award "Edda" for Best Direction and Best Screenplay, and was eventually the subject of an US remake titled "Contraband". Jónasson's animated feature film "Thor - Ein hammermäßiges Abenteuer" premiered in Iceland in 2011, and was released in Germany in April 2013.