Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.08.2011, Page 30

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2011
Philosopher, filmmaker, writer and
frequent-Grapevine contributor
Haukur Már Helgason premiered
his documentary ‘Ge9n’ (‘A9ainst’
is its English title) at the Skjald-
borg film festival this spring. On the
surface, the film purports to be an
examination of the case and trial
of ‘the Reykjavík 9,’ a group of nine
seemingly unconnected dissidents
that were charged with attacking
Iceland’s parliament during the so-
called ‘pots and pans revolution’ of
2008-2009.
The case of the Reykjavík 9 was an in-
teresting and thought-provoking one
(we’ve certainly printed enough articles
on the matter) and one could rightfully
assume that a documentary dedicated
to investigating it would be all sorts
of interesting. But upon viewing it, we
discovered that it goes above and be-
yond being a straight up re-telling of
the course of events and the following
case and trial. It is an altogether differ-
ent kettle of fish; it is an ambitious nar-
rative that seeks to portray and criticise
a side to Iceland and Icelandic society
that—if it indeed exists—is quite alarm-
ing if not outright scary.
After viewing ‘A9ainst’ at Skjald-
borg, Grapevine writer Ásgeir H. In-
gólfsson wrote that “if enough people
see it, it just might change the ways of
the society it seeks to criticise.” That
is a pretty hefty claim from Ásgeir, but
while his review might be overstated
it nonetheless becomes clear to any
open-minded viewer of ‘A9ainst’ that
rarely has Icelandic society been criti-
cised in such a vicious and lucid man-
ner on-screen. If nothing else, it does
present a new way to look at our small
community, leaving aside whether it
rings true or not (that is for the viewer
to decide for herself).
‘A9ainst’ will be premiered to the
general public at Bíó Paradís on Sep-
tember 9. We wrote down some ques-
tions while viewing a screening copy
the other day and sent them to Haukur
Már—read on to learn more about what
it all means.
IS HE REALLY COMPARING HIM-
SELF TO GALILEO GALILEI?
You are a philosopher, writer and
filmmaker (and artist, even?), and
while you don't seem affiliated with
a particular political party you can
certainly be said to work within the
realm of politics to the extent that it
colours most of your creative out-
put. How do the political and artis-
tic realms collide within your cre-
ative persona?
There is still something to be learned
from modernism. I'm not sure what
comes first for me: philosophy, cinema
or writing. Privately I refer to this found-
ing moment of modernity, when Galileo
Galilei turned a telescope towards the
moon and the stars, and drew pictures
of what he witnessed, which he then
used to support the new Copernican
world model. Turning everything on its
head.
This may seem to be a little far-
fetched, but there’s some focus there
for my diverse activities. Galileo did
several things at once. First of all, he
used optics, the same optics cameras
use today, to enhance or alter his vision.
Only by looking at things a little differ-
ently did he actually see. Second, the
essence of what he did: to look up, at
the world, to see it for himself, rather
than look down at the word of scripture.
Third, he made himself into an automat,
a camera, by copying as precisely as he
could what he witnessed, the changing
light on the moon’s surface etc. Fourth:
no human can be a machine—his out-
put, probably to his own frustration, had
artistic value. Fifth: he supported his
images with words, with theory, without
which they would have remained mere
doodles. Six: he published. He intended
his discoveries to have an effect, not
merely as private experiences, in the
public domain. Seven: his published
writing was rhetorically elaborate—but
only to the extent of upholding evident
verifiable truths, daring others to also
look up and bear witness to the world.
This, truthfulness, it’s very hard but
it leaves space for fantastic humour.
When faced with those authorities who
would rather keep the Earth at the cen-
tre of the universe, Galileo mockingly
gave in, because in the end his utter-
ances would not alter the stellar orbits
an inch.
So Galileo was a proto-filmmaker.
Today we have three types of equip-
ment to go on using our eyes as Galileo
did: we have the telescope to look up
at the heavens, the microscope to look
down at miniatures, and then 50mm
lenses to look around us, at people and
their worlds. That’s how filmmaking lies
somewhere between the arts and re-
search. If your chosen subject matter is
not the moon, but people then politics
and power cannot be avoided. If you’re
honest, they will enter the frame.
WTF IS ‘ICELANDIC CINEMA’?
Is there such a thing as 'Icelan-
dic Cinema' and if so, what are its
symptoms? What is its trajectory?
Where is it headed?
Short answer: Yes, there is. Filmmaker
and writer Þorgeir Þorgeirsson used
to complain that Icelandic cinema had
no humanist roots, as the cinemas of
other European countries—if Icelandic
cinema had any hope, he said, it would
lie in the talent within the ad agencies.
This was not meant as optimism. A lot
has changed since he struggled for
funding. Perhaps the most important
change lies in a wealth of documenta-
ries—Róbert Douglas, Grímur Hákonar-
son—even Þráinn Bertelsson's early
light-hearted comedies today seem
like first-class documents on life in a
particular society at a particular time.
Humanist. Same goes for Ísold Ugga-
dóttir's sense of comedy, and Ragnar
Bragason for that matter. But it’s hard to
find any one particular tendency within
Icelandic cinema—except the dangers
that we face, which are pretty much
the same as those Þorgeirsson spoke
of. Funding for his project of document-
ing the Icelandic fisheries industry was
cut short when he did not focus on the
most technologically advanced ships or
the friendliest crewmembers. No state
or business has an interest in cinema as
a truth-machine. The struggle between
interests and truth is global, of course.
Iceland, however, this village of ours,
sometimes seems extra-neurotic about
its image.
Films | Interview
WILL ‘A9AINST’ ENTIRELY
TRANSFORM ICELANDIC SO-
CIETY AND MAKE EVERYTHING
BETTER FOREVER?
Probably not, but the documentary still ref lects it in a new and necessary light
“After viewing ‘A9ainst’ at Skjaldborg, Grapevine writer
Ásgeir H. Ingólfsson wrote that “if enough people see it,
it just might change the ways of the society it seeks to
criticise.””
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Words
Haukur S. Magnússon
Photo
Julia Staples
We'll give a pair of tickets to the premiere of 'A9AINST' to the
first five folks that drop us a line at letters@grapevine.is with
the subject "I AM A9AINST"