Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2011, Blaðsíða 29

29
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2011
Films | RIFF
RIFF will commence on September
22 and go on until October 2. The
schedule was still taking shape at
the time of writing, but here are bits
of the news that had already leaked
out of RIFF headquarters:
Danish director Lone Scherfig is the
guest of honour. She's directed films
such as dogme flick ‘Italian For Begin-
ners’ and Hollywood movies like ‘An
Education’ and the brand new ‘One Day.’
Documentary director James Marsh
will also attend. He is best known for
‘Man On Wire’ and has recently directed
‘Project Nim’, which seems to be sorta
like ‘Rise of the Planet Of The Apes’,
apart from the sci-fi part.
Kevin Smith will not attend in person,
but he will be here in spirit after a mid-
night screening of his horror film ‘Red
State.’ After the show he'll do a Q & A
through satellite from the US.
Romania will be this year’s FOCUS
COUNTRY. Romanian films have per-
formed strongly at festivals over the
last decade, and a Romanian film, ‘The
Death of Mr. Lazarescu’, won RIFF's
main award a few years back. The
catchiest title of the new crop must be
‘The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceaus-
escu,’ at least as long as you like your
dictators truly mad (batshit crazy, even).
In the music films section there are two
adaptations of recent records. A col-
lection of twelve short films based on
the songs on PJ Harvey's ‘Let England
Shake’ and Spike Jonze's adaptation
of Arcade Fire's ‘The Suburbs’ (before
becoming known as one of Hollywood's
most original directors, Spike worked on
numerous music videos for the likes of
Björk and Beastie Boys). Finally, Gina
Belafonte will come and present a
documentary about her father Harry Be-
lafonte, called ‘Sing Your Song’.
RIFF will participate with Couch Fest
Films this year, where film buffs will
show short films at home and invite
guests over. But there are other unusual
locations on offer. You will be able to see
the classic ‘The Neverending Story’ in a
swimming pool, and they say there is a
screening in the centre of the earth. The
details are sketchy but we're expecting a
cave of some sorts (here’s hoping they
don't mean an active volcano).
PJ Harvey, Ceausescu and Limahl in a swimming pool
RIFF previewed
ÁSGEIR H. INGÓLFSSON
Step into
the Viking Age
Experience Viking-Age Reykja­vík a­t the
new Settlement Exhibition. The focus of the
exhibition is a­n exca­va­ted longhouse site which
da­tes from the 10th century ad. It includes
relics of huma­n ha­bita­tion from a­bout 871, the
oldest such site found in Icela­nd.

Multimedia­ techniques bring Reykja­vík’s
pa­st to life, providing visitors with insights
into how people lived in the Viking Age, a­nd
wha­t the Reykja­vík environment looked like
to the first settlers.
The exhibition a­nd
museum shop a­re open
da­ily 10–17
Aða­lstræti 16
101 Reykja­vík / Icela­nd
Phone +(354) 411 6370
www.reykja­vikmuseum.is
<3 PJ Harvey
Taste the freshness
of a farmer’s market
Housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings, Fish
Market uses ingredients sourced directly from
the nation’s best farms, lakes, and sea to create
unforgettable Icelandic dishes with a modern twist.
AÐALSTRÆTI 12 | +354 578 8877 | FISHMARKET.IS
2008
GO LIST
OPEN FOR LUNCH WEEKDAYS 11:30 - 14:00
OPEN EVERY EVENING 18:00 - 23:30