Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2018, Síða 38

Come For The Films,
Stay For The Party
Skjaldborg documentary festival promises to be
a blockbuster Words: Phil Uwe Widiger Photo: Art Bicnick & Atli Már Hafsteinsson
Skjaldborg, the festival of Icelandic
documentaries, will be held for the
12th time on the weekend of 18th-
20th of May in the town Patreks-
fjörður in the Westfjords. The fes-
tival’s title is a reference to the local
cinema, which goes by the same
name. 18 Icelandic documentaries
will be premiered during the festi-
val this year, as well as some “works
in progress.”
The festival is well known for
bringing together the big guns of
the Icelandic documentary field,
and many collaborations have
started during this festival. Along
with premiering exciting new films,
Skjaldborg festival is also known for
its very vibrant and friendly atmos-
phere, and many exciting events. It
includes an excellent local seafood
feast, stand-up comedy, a parade
through the town, a limbo compe-
tition, a masterclass with the guest
of honour, and—last but not least—
parties till the early hours, some-
times right on the beach.
If that doesn’t make you dream,
just add the beautiful surroundings
of Patreksfjörður, with untouched
nature, a handful of natural geo-
thermal pools, and one of Iceland’s
best municipal swimming pools
right in the centre of the town.
Extreme sport
Helga Rakel Rafnsdóttir and Kristín
Andrea Þórðardóttir are the main
organisers of the festival. They work
in the field of documentaries and
have a noticeable pas-
sion for it. Helga and
Kristín have taken
part in the festival for
a while, but this will
be their second year
running it.
“The festival is
pure magic,” says
Helga Rakel. “It’s a mix of locals and
people coming from other parts
of the world. Patreksfjörður has a
really nice cinema and the festival
started around it, giving it another
purpose for a few days each year. It’s
very important to have events where
people in the industry can give each
other a boost because documenta-
ry-making is a little bit like a badly
paid extreme sport.” She smiles at
that, but you can sense a seriousness
behind her words.
Silence and killing
The organisers of Skjaldborg are al-
ways ambitious when it comes to
selecting the guest of honour. “The
guest of honor this year is Nils Pagh
Andersen,” says Helga Rakel. “He
has been editing documentaries
since 1976 and has edited over 250
films, mostly documentaries. He
is a great lecturer, a teacher and is
publishing a book on documenta-
ries. We will show two movies that
he edited “The Look Of Silence,” and
“The Act Of Killing,” which have
received many priz-
es, and are very well
known.”
W h e n a s k e d
about the most mem-
orable experience
from the festival,
Kristín Andrea does
not have to think for
a long time. “The beach party a few
years back is legendary,” she smiles.
“People still talk about it, and Hel-
ga and I watch videos from that
evening every spring, to get us in the
mood. There was just something
amazing that happened there—it’s
hard to explain. People kept party-
ing until six in the morning and yet
showed up at the cinema a few hours
later.”
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“Documentary
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little bit like a
badly paid ex-
treme sport.”
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