Director: Juliann Blackmore Saga of Hope is an exploration of the Icelandic heritage of distant cousins Juliann Blackmore and Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir. Their ancestor, Sigursteinn Oddson, left Iceland in 1883. His neighbour, Hans Peter Tergesen, left in 1887. The two men were part of a massive exodus from Iceland to Canada. A devastating volcano drove one-third of the population from their island home. The majority went to a settlement in Manitoba, named "New Iceland." Both Sigursteinn and Hans Peter had hopes for a better life in Canada, but their fortunes divided. Tergesen opened a general store in Gimli that became the centre of the Icelandic community and is still run by the Tergesen family today. Oddson worked his lifetime breaking land. The hardships of a settler's life finally shattered his family, scattering his descendants across Canada. Top of page.