Truenorth Responds To Criticism Of Fast 8 Filming

The Icelandic film production company has responded to criticism that the filming of Fast 8 has endangered the environment and treated Icelandic workers unfairly.

As reported, the Association of Filmmakers criticised the filming of Fast 8, in particular for its environmental impact on Lake Mývatn, as well as the terms of employment for the film crew. RÚV now reports that Truenorth, the Icelandic production company working on the Fast 8 filming, has responded to these charges.

Truenorth contends that every precaution was taken to preserve the environmental integrity of Lake Mývatn, adding that their permit to film legally bound them to being able to fulfill numerous environmental requirements. Even when a construction vehicle fell through the ice at the lake, Truenorth says, immediate action was taken to contain any environmental damage, and the Environment Agency of Iceland conducted an assessment after the accident, finding no environmental damage done.

They added that labour rules regarding working hours, wages, safety and health were also applied to the film crew. In particular, they point out that Icelandic regulations requiring 51% of a film crew to come from European Economic Area countries are still in place, and they therefore dismiss any accusations that film crew were made to sign contracts about their working hours.

Filming of Fast 8 in Iceland is still ongoing.