Reykjavík Grapevine - 31.07.2015, Side 28

However, while Iceland’s landscape is
becoming a familiar sight on-screen, the
country itself is not all that well-known
for its cinema culture, especially outside
of Reykjavík. It’s only in the last few years
that a film movement has really developed.
Thanks to a new artist-run film festival,
that’s just about to grow a little bigger.
Although it’s only in its first year, Turtle
Filmfest Hólmavík has
been making artis-
tic waves for several
months in the form of
an arts centre initia-
tive in Hólmavík (pop.
375). “We arranged it
with Hólmavík so that
we could get access
to all the old school
buildings that aren’t used in the summer-
time,” says Arne Rawe, head organiser of
the festival. An artist and photographer
himself, Arne’s deep engagement with the
themes and ethos of the festival reflects its
low-key, artist-led nature. “We invited a lot
of artists to come and work there, as we
liked the idea of a sort of artists’ and resi-
dents’ programme. But we are artists too,
so actually, we are part of that in a way.”
In this way, the festival is not just about
showcasing art and film—it is an ongoing
artistic project.
The festival will feature a wide range of
unique, inventive documentaries and nar-
rative films as it aims to explore the thresh-
old between reality and fiction. “We want-
ed something that is more experimental,
where people are crossing the boundaries
of how to tell stories,” Arne says. “In be-
tween how you document things and how
you tell a story with them, you know—you
can’t just simply document reality. So you
have to put something more in it, some-
thing more artistic to tell the story and get
closer to the people. And this is just what
we are looking for. This is at the very heart
of it—this new approach to cinema.”
Arne and his fellow organisers have
just finished touring some selected films
from the festival’s lineup around Iceland in
order to promote the real thing. I managed
to catch one of these pop-up screenings
last Friday in Kaffistofa,
and it didn’t disap-
point. The standout
film on show was Ali
Silverstein’s ‘Afterglow’
(2011), which followed
the director’s journey to
scatter her boyfriend’s
ashes in his favourite
places in the world. It’s
not hard to imagine such a plotline guid-
ing a Zooey Deschanel-led indie film, but
the film’s road-movie/documentary style
ensured it was heart-wrenching, dream-
like, and not at all contrived—giving us a
perfect glimpse of what is to come during
the festival itself.
Taking art away and
bringing it back
Northwest Iceland has increasingly be-
come an artist’s mecca in recent years,
with small-scale galleries, studios, and
workshops popping up everywhere, from
old herring factories to abandoned dairies.
Unfortunately, the work of these artists is
often informally off-limits or uninteresting
to locals, with the vast majority of visitors
being people from the city or abroad. So
it’s refreshing to hear that one of the ideas
inspiring the festival is to give back to the
community of Hólmavík and the surround-
ing Westfjords.
“I went there as an artist around five
or seven years ago, documenting the work
of my friend, and I just got hooked there
somehow,” Arne recounts. “I came in the
following years on field trips with my stu-
dents—three years in a row. Rather than
just going there, everyone photographing
the buildings and landscape, and then
taking it away for an exhibition in Germany
or whatever, I just had this feeling that you
have to give something back to the peo-
ple.”
This is reflected in the festival’s admis-
sion policy—or rather, the lack thereof.
While recent Icelandic cinema has re-
ceived much international acclaim, with
the notable exception of Reykjavík’s excel-
lent Bíó Paradís, there are few opportuni-
ties for Icelanders to see arthouse and in-
die films from beyond Hollywood. Outside
of the city, cinemas are even rarer beasts.
“In Hólmavík, there is no cinema,” Arne
explains. “So we have got this portable
projection rig we can bring anywhere. We
are looking for special places all around
the town where we would like to show
movies—in a slaughterhouse, a fish facto-
ry, a church, an old trawler in the harbour,
and even people’s homes. The basic idea
of cinema is bringing people together, and
that’s something we want to get back to.”
With a whole slate of Icelandic films,
as well as many international indie films,
locals and visitors alike will be given the
chance to see things they might otherwise
never get the chance to. In this way, the
festival should hopefully go a long way in
promoting cinema among Icelanders, but
especially the community of Hólmavík. It
may be its first year, but it looks like it cer-
tainly won’t be its last.
As Hollywood’s current in vogue shooting locale, the Icelandic countryside is increasingly
becoming a presence on multiplex screens across the globe. Aided by generous tax breaks,
films such as ‘Interstellar’ and big-budget series like 'Game of Thrones' have done a lot to put
rural Iceland on the cognitive world map for moviegoers everywhere.
Photo
Still from 'The Act of Killing'
28 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2015FILM
Bringing A Small Town
To Life With
The Power Of Cinema
Turtle Filmfest Hólmavík
Words
Ciarán Daly
Breakfast
Brunch
Lunch
Happy Hour
Dinner
K-Bar is a gastro pub with a Korean, Japa-
nese, Icelandic inspired kitchen and quirky
cocktails. We have eight icelandic craft
beers on tap and over 100 types in bottles.
Open all day from breakfast to late night
snacks. K-Bar is located at Laugavegur 74.
Ask your reception how to find us or find us
on facebook.com/kbarreykjavik
Holmavík, Westfjords Admission:FREEAugust 10-16 Turtle Filmfest Hólmavík
“We wanted some-
thing that is more
experimental, where
people are crossing
the boundaries of
how to tell stories,”