Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.04.1992, Blaðsíða 1

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The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888
Heimslrrinrjla Stofnað 9. september 1886
Inside this week:
Letters to the Editor................................page 2
Þorkell Þorgeirsson,
retold by Einar Kvaran...................................3
The Life and Death of Little lceland,
by John Kimantas.....................................4 & 5
Afi's Journal...............................................6
106. Árgangur
I06th Year
Publications Mail Registration No. 1667
Föstudagur 17. apríl 1992
Friday, 17 April 1992
Númer 14
Number 14
Alcohol sold on board:
A new bill, proposing changes to the
lcelandic
News
laws which govern the salesofalcohol,
will soon be put before the Alþingí
(lcelandic parliament). The change in-
volves the inclusion of a new clause
whieh wíll allow the minister of justice
tö permit the sales of alcohol on board
domestíc flíghts and ferries.
Geysir will be quiet:
Néflmwetndarráð,
or the Nature
Preservation
Board, has de-
cided that the
artificialínduce-
ment of erup-
tíons in Geysir
will not be al~
lowed.
tt is thought
that Geysír
came into be-
*ng duríng a great earthquake in the
thirteenth century. In 1915 Geysir had
almost ceased toerupt, butwas reacti-
vated in 1935 by lowering the water
level. Nowadays, eruptíon has been
induced by lowering the water level
and by throwing detergent into the
of the Geysir. In 1991, the
Nóttúruverndarráð became responsí-
for looking after the Geysír, Last
aummer, the Board permitted three
artificial indgcements of eruptions ín
the Geysir,
Árnl Tryggvmon
A new short docu-
^entary premiered:
premiere showing of the shart
documentaryfilm Handfærasinfónian,
°f The Hand-Line Symphony took
place recently at Hótel Loftleiðir in
7eykjavík. Actor and small boatowner
^fni Tryggvason produced the film.
£/e received grants from an lcelandic
.m íund as well as from the Associa-
hon of Small BoatOwnersto make the
ilm, whích is 42 minutes long.
Trans/ated from Icelandic
newspapers. H.K.D.j
Gleðilega Páska
This Easter holiday our Icelandic cousins will be able
to enjoy the early arrival of spring. In Iceland most
people get five days off from work while students enjoy
a two-week-long holiday.
Happy Easter
from all of us
at Lögberg-Heimskringla.
Enjoylng the holidays.
Photo courtesy of the Moigunblaö.
A scene from Friörik Þór Frlórlksson’s fllm Chlldren of Nature.
New York:
Preparation for an lcelandic Film Festival
The nomination of Friðrik Þór
Friðriksson’s Children ofNatureior
an Academy Award and an Icelandic
Film Festival planned for fall have
been the focus of recent activity of
the Icelandic American Society of
New York (IASNY). The IASNY
showing of Children ofNature at the
Alliance Francaise on March 23 was
sold out long in advance, and many
were tumed away at the door.
At the reception afterwards, an
exuberant crowd expressed great en-
thusiasm for the fílm’s landscape cin-
ematography, its moving story, and
its evocative symbols. The Honorable
Helgi Gíslason, Consul General of
Iceland and Permanent Representa-
tive of Iceland to the United Nations,
and his deputy, Kornelíus
Sigmundsson, were in attendance, as
were many members of the Icelandic
business and artistic community.
Edda Magnusson, the Society’s Presi-
dent, declared the evening a spec-
tacular success.
Encouraged by the large tumout
of its members and other film enthu-
siasts, IASNY is going fullspeed
ahead in its preparations for the first
Icelandic Film Festival in New York.
The Festival, sheduledfor late Octo-
ber, is to run four days and screen
ten films in a retrospective survey of
Icelandic cinema. The festival will
include several receptions for Ice-
landic fílm directors, producers, and
actors, and will conclude with a panel
and forum on the development of
the Icelandic film industry.
In early April, Kornelíus
Sigmundsson of the Icelandic Con-
sulate in New York, hosted a kick-
off event to organize financial and
institutional support for the festival
and to honor Friðrik Þór
Friðriksson’s academy award nomi-
nation. Among the more than sev-
enty guests who attended, were rep-
resentatives of both U.S. and Icelan-
dic film makers, govemment offi-
cials, representatives of Time Maga-
zine, Hearst Publications, and other
media organizations.
The Icelandic American Society
of New York has a membership of
500 families. IASNY has traditionally
had strong representation from the
significant community of Icelanders
who have immigrated to the USA over
the past several decades. Many of these
families have members that are Ameri-
can citizens. As is common among
Icelanders living abroad, they have
formed strong community ties and
organized regular social events to cel-
ebrate their Icelandic heritage. The
film Children of Nature touched a
resonant chord in the hearts of these
people.
IASNY also publishes a quarterly
newsletter, The Society News, that
alerts the Icelandic community to cul-
tural events and reports on items of
general interest. Editor Eva Becker
has significantly increased the news-
letter’s coverage over the past couple
of years and made improvements in
the format and content. Recent edi-
tions have included interviews with
prominent Icelanders in the New York
region and coverage and commentary
on Icelandic social, political, and eco-
nomic affairs.