Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.09.2016, Qupperneq 20

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2016
20
The key word in
“Reykjavík Interna-
tional Film Festival”
is “International.”
Ever y yea r, R I F F
opens a window be-
tween Iceland and
world cinema, im-
porting a diverse
l i neup of foreig n
arthouse films and documentaries
to local audiences looking to expand
the borders of their minds. Icelandic
features may set their sights on pres-
tigious festivals abroad, but at home,
stripped of subtitles, they’re commer-
cial propositions.
Festivalgoers looking to dive into
the Icelandic film scene can, however,
turn their attention to RIFF’s shorts.
Short films can make or break a ca-
reer—herald the arrival of a significant
new talent, or sink without a trace—but
you won’t see them in theatrical release.
Festival audiences have the rare privi-
lege of taking a chance on shorts, and
indeed this year’s RIFF features three
programs of Icelandic shorts (two fic-
tion programs and one nonfiction).
The Icelandic filmmakers of RIFF
are of different ages, and their roads
to directing their calling-card shorts
have wound variously through film
school in Iceland, Europe and North
America; through sets for artistic and
commercial gigs; through acting roles
on stage and screen. So, we asked them
about their experiences, from inspira-
tion to production to the future, to get
a snapshot of the Icelandic film indus-
try as it exists for emerging auteurs.
We spoke to:
-Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir, an
actress and producer who got her start
with the Vesturport theatre collective,
and whose ‘Cubs’, her second short
film, stars her frequent collaborator
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as a single dad
hosting a sleepover. “The status of
single fathers and possible prejudice
towards them was the core inspiration
for the story,” Nanna told us. “Mistrust
is getting more striking in modern
society and of course in many cases
justly so. It’s good to take precautions
but let’s remember human kindness
and not judge the book by its cover.”
-Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, an actress mak-
ing her directorial debut with ‘Helga’,
about a single mother remembering an
act of tenderness from her own child-
hood. The film was based on a story
told to Tinna by another woman, she
tells us, and is “a story of how we some-
times are busy with so many things
that don’t really matter, of how we lose
sight of what is the most important
thing in life, which to me is connec-
tion and love.”
-Rúnar Ingi Einarsson, who’s helmed
music videos and advertisements (in-
cluding that tearjerker “Chez Louis”
ad for IcelandAir), and whose short
‘Apology’, about a school janitor, “was
in many ways built around the theme
of humiliation.”
-Katrín Björgvinsdóttir, now attend-
ing film school in Denmark, whose
short ‘Best Friends Forever and Ever’,
concerns the bond between two room-
mates.
-Eyþór Jóvinsson, a student at the
Icelandic Film School, whose fourth
short film, ‘Playing By Ear’, adapts a
Þórarinn Eldjárn story about family
ties and musical instruments.
-Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttr, an
MFA candidate in filmmaking at NYU,
whose short 'I Can’t Be Seen Like This'
was inspired in part by her relation-
ship with one of her sisters.
-Ísak Hinriksson, a young Icelan-
dic actor whose first short, ‘Alone?’,
concerns a retired corrections officer
and a surprise Christmas guest—the
story’s echoes with a viral 2012 news
story are “a fun coincidence,” he says.
On film school and
learning on the job...
“I went to Vancouver Film School for
scriptwriting. I also took a course at
NYFA in filmmaking. But working in
the business taught me a lot. As an
actress I’ve worked with numerous
directors who all have their own style
and approach. Their work inspires me.
I’m now finding my own voice as a di-
rector and the urge for stories I want to
tell. It comes very naturally.”
Nanna Kristín
FEATURE
In Kraum you will find carefully
selected products from over 100
Icelandic designers
Kraum
Bankastræti 7 (entrance of Cintamani)
101 Reykjavik
(+354) 517-7797
www.kraum.is
Welcome to our new location in Bankastræti 7!
RIFF'S
ICELANDIC
DIRECTORS
THE ICELANDIC
CINEMA ISSUE:
Words
MARK ASCH
Photos
HREFNA BJÖRG
GYLFADÓTTIR
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