Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2012, Qupperneq 15

“We had already decided on an African focus and since
we like having strong contrasts, Iceland seemed like a
good choice. You are far away, you are a small country and
people don't really know much about Iceland apart from its
beautiful countryside and that there is a lot of creative power
there. All the films we selected are really well done and not
just films that want to be feature films but excellent shorts in
their own right,” says Interfilm festival Director Heinz Her-
manns on the reason for spotlighting Iceland.
Best of Iceland
So how does Iceland come off then? Pretty close to real life, I
think. Heinz and his team have done a good job of program-
ming; the selection was varied and not too concerned with
novelty, making for a very nice selection of Icelandic shorts
from 2001–2011, essentially a 'best of' spanning that decade.
These films are not all set among hermits in misty valleys,
under snow-covered mountains, or by volcanic beaches (al-
though some are); they also detail life in Reykjavík for the
young and old alike.
Take one of the highlights, ‘BSÍ’ (2001) by Þorgeir Guð-
mundsson. A teenage girl (played by a young Þórunn Antonía
with braces!) wanders into the main bus station in Reykjavík
at dawn where she encounters a man in his early thirties who
has just escaped from the psychiatric ward. They establish a
special bond without saying much, only sharing an elongated
moment before the long weekend known as 'verslunarman-
nahelgin' kicks off. The film is not too concerned with plot
but creates ample space for beautiful moments of subdued
interaction to unfold between the two and others who hang
around the bus terminal or work there, finally leaving one
with the sense that no matter how many wrong turns you've
taken, there are always new roads to be travelled, new buses
to jump.
A bit depressing
‘BSÍ’ is a serious yet humorous film, a trait it shares with many
other titles, like Ísold Uggadóttir's ‘Góðir gestir’ (“Family Re-
union,” 2006), ‘Anna’ by Helena Stefánsdóttir (2007) and
most memorably ‘Bræðrabylta’ (“Wrestling,” 2007) by Grímur
Hákonarson which actually won the Best Short Award at In-
terfilm when it was in competition a few years ago. The latter
is about two gay wrestlers who wrestle with love and one
another in a remote Icelandic village. One is married and the
other insists he leave his wife. As the Icelandic championship
in wrestling approaches and they each endure personal trag-
edies, the need for closure becomes dire. ‘Bræðrabylta’ is full
of beautiful compositions, quirky subplots and it manages
to stay truly touching throughout its lengthy twenty-minute
runtime without ever abandoning its humorous tone, often
brought about by the traditional costume and ceremony of
the sport.
Icelandic films remind Heinz
a bit of Finnish cinema. “I like
the black humour and often bi-
zarre stories that are nevertheless
close to reality. They often seem slightly
depressive but usually have a good sense of laconic humour
and great characters,” he says. “These films are always en-
tertaining and thus great for a general audience.” Heinz's
favourites include ‘Bræðrabylta,’ Christmas-comedy ‘Klás’
(2010) by Ragnar Snorrason, the absolutely hilarious politi-
cal satire cum zombie-film ‘Naglinn’ (“The Nail,” 2008) by
Benedikt Erlingsson and feel good flick ‘Epic Fail’ (2009) by
Ragnar Agnarsson. He also mentions ‘Síðasti bærinn’ (“The
Last Farm,” 2004) by Rúnar Rúnarsson, “a really tragic and a
really great film.”
The next big thing
Rúnar's 2008 film ‘Smáfuglar’ (“2 Birds”) was also playing,
and it felt just as devastating now as always. A timid teenage
boy has a crush on a girl and we observe them hanging out
with their friends, a much bolder couple. The four of them
head for a sketchy party in the neighbourhood and soon end
up unconscious after consuming ketamine. In the middle of
the night, the boy witnesses a (very graphic) tragedy but is
unable to act. Only in the early morning hours can he reverse
what has been done. He absolves the victim by taking on
the perpetrators' sins and recasting the deed as an act of
love. The film is stunning on all levels and prompted com-
ment from a Canadian filmmaker present who felt that most
other work, including his own, seemed somewhat trivial in
comparison.
I have heard people entertain the idea that films will be
the next big cultural export of Iceland. We've had a good run
with music and now it's time for cinema to set ablaze the
hearts of people around the globe, the argument goes. See-
ing this collection definitely made the prospect sound real
and brought about more personal interest in the format.
Unfortunately, shorts are tragically inaccessible in Ice-
land, only seeing a festival screening or two (where half of
the programme is unwatchable at best). Only the luckiest or
most cunning filmmakers will secure a slot on national televi-
sion and the boldest release DVDs that may or may not sell.
However, this may be changing as pay-per-view and video-
on-demand services become more accessible and new
websites with video content pop up every day. Interfilm's
programme was a healthy reminder that although Icelandic
cinema may be young it is nevertheless developing fast. Lo-
cal subjects seem to touch international audiences and there
is obviously no shortage of talent up here.
- ATLI BOLLASON
15 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 18 — 2012FILM
How is life like in Kazakhstan? Is it really a nation of old, wrinkled ladies with shawls and
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zakh films I know. Cinema is every nation's postcard to the rest of the world; as anyone
who's been on exchange in Montana or Connecticut will tell you, those cheerleaders and
quarterbacks really exist. So when one of the biggest short film festivals in the world,
Berlin's International Short Film Festival (Interfilm, for short), decided to focus on Icelan-
dic short-form filmmaking for their 28th edition in November, the question of how Iceland
would be perceived through its movies naturally arose.
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Icelandic Shorts Are
Actually Really Good
Reporting from Berlin's International Short Film Festival
The Berlin International Short Film Festival, which
showcased 500 films, took place November 13-18.
“
I have heard people en-
tertain the idea that films
will be the next big cultural
export of Iceland.
„
Suðurgata 41 · 101 Reykjavík · Tel. +354 530-2200 · www.natmus.is
The country’s largest
museum of cultural
history featuring a
permanent exhibition on
Iceland’s extraordinary
history from settlement
to present day.
Opening hours:
Daily except Mondays 11-17
Various exhibitions:
Making of a Nation
The People on Þórsgata
The Crossing of Greenland 1912-1913
Match of the century
Drawing- Across Time and Technique
Christmas exhibitions until 6. January 2013
National Museum of Iceland