200 million are watching! This is the reality facing Hatari, a group of performance artists from Iceland, when they decide to enter Eurovision. But the stunt quickly goes too far when they are selected to represent Iceland at the 2019 Song Contest.
Now Hatari are destined to travel to Tel Aviv, Israel, to represent their tiny country on the world stage. Faced with the pressing political context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Hatari resolve to do something; to try to make a difference.
Hatari (Icelandic for ‘Hater’), declare themselves ’an award winning, anti-capitalist, BDSM, techno band’. They turn heads and open minds with their full-on antics. But can they use their art to contribute to this critical debate? Or will their message fail to pierce the shiny bubble created by Eurovision?
As Hatari try to change the world, A Song Called Hate charts how this journey changes them.
Director’s Statement:
Established in the wake of the Second World War, Eurovision is the longest running annual international television contest. Despite calls for boycotts, Tel Aviv was chosen to host the competition in 2019. Hatari, Iceland’s self-declared award-winning, anti-capitalist, BDSM techno band, decide to enter the contest. I was taken aback by their decision and pulled together a tiny crew together to film Hatari’s participation in the Icelandic round of Eurovision. Our film starts with their unforeseen win. As Hatari was now Iceland’s official entry to Eurovision 2019 I was faced with the fact that there wasn’t the time or resources to find a director and I took the challenge from executive producers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard to take a step into the unknown, direct this film.