Northern Irish-Icelandic descent runs deep through Douglas's veins, shaping his life and artistic endeavors. For a significant portion of his life, he has resided in Northern Ireland, where he pursued Media Studies for two years at The University of Ulster. Born in Iceland, a small village in Mosfellsbær just outside the capital Reykjavik, Douglas would often spend his summers with his grandparents in and around Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
When it comes to his craft, film, Douglas is largely self-taught. His mother, an Icelandic civil servant, and his Irish father, a geologist and teacher who has lived in Iceland for many years, both played a significant role in shaping his passion for filmmaking. As a young boy, his father would let him use his 8mm camera and later the family video camera, allowing Douglas to create numerous short movies.
Douglas has enjoyed a remarkable amount of success at the annual Reykjavik Short Film Festival, taking home five prizes for four movies. In 1998, he received several awards for his twenty-minute short movie, "Iceland is the Dream," which would later serve as the inspiration for his first feature film. The film, which broke all box office records in Iceland, was invited to various prestigious film festivals, including Toronto, Edinburgh, and Pusan.
Throughout his career, Douglas has directed three feature films and one documentary. His latest film, "Eleven Men Out," was released in over 20 countries around the world, including North America, France, and Germany. The film competed in the Panorama section of the 56th Berlin International Film Festival and was invited to over 100 film festivals, including The Toronto International Film Festival and MoMA New Directors New Films in New York. Robert Douglas is widely regarded as one of Iceland's most exciting young film directors.
In recent years, Douglas has been based in Beijing, preparing and working on numerous film projects. His next feature film, a project about the ex-pat community in Beijing, is set to be released in 2013.
