Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.11.2018, Blaðsíða 38

Cold Cuts
The Frostbiter horror film festival
will make you shiver
Words: Michael Chapman Photo: SBS
Festival
Frostbiter 2018 happens from
November 23rd-25th in Akranes.
Get further info at frostbiter.is.
For those who appreciate a decent
scare, there is no better place to
be than Akranes this November.
Since 2016, husband and wife
team Lovísa Lára Halldórsdóttir
and Ársæll Rafn Erlingsson have
headed up the Frostbiter Icelandic
Horror Film Festival in the west
Iceland town Open to both Ice-
landic and international submis-
sions, the festival has, for the past
two years, attracted the country’s
most diehard fright fanatics and
aims to do it again November
23rd-25th.
Frostbiter is far more than
film screenings and Q&As. In
the past, scheduled events have
included seminars focused on
killing Nazi zombies—with the
makers of ‘Dead Snow 2,’ no less—
party screenings of cult classics
and even pub quizzes delving into
everything from ‘Nightmare on
Elm Street’ (1984) to the obscure,
yet hilarious ‘The Nostril Picker’
(1993).
2018’s line-up will see Iceland’s
favourite singer Páll Óskar—a
devotee of the genre—screen the
‘70s low budget horror film, ‘Equi-
nox,’ as well as old horror trailers
shown on a Super 8 projector.
Not So Niceland
Frostbiter was born out of a per-
ceived lack of attention given to
Icelandic horror films, as further
international interest in Iceland
as a filming location. “When we
started the festival there really
weren’t many filmmakers in Ice-
land making horror,” says Loví-
sa, a longtime filmmaker herself.
“We felt that it was a shame, as we
have so many horror stories here.
Through Viking sagas and folk-
tales we encounter many super-
natural creatures; ghosts, elves,
trolls and even the Devil himself.
The cold harsh scenery should be
a great source of inspiration.”
As married couples are subject
to do, actor Ársæll Rafn agrees,
adding: “Icelanders have a lot of
insidious stories and books. But
there have not been many creepy
movies in this country. It's not be-
cause of a lack of enthusiasm, as
there are many horror fans here.
But it has been difficult to finance
such pictures so far. We want to
promote Icelandic filmmakers to
take risks and be inspired by film-
makers around the world."
Brave words for a man who,
by his own admission, spent his
childhood terrified not only by
ghosts but the family-friendly
Tim Burton classic, ‘Edward Scis-
sorhands.’
A Nightmare in Akranes
The festival climaxes with an
awards ceremony, with prizes for
the Best International Short and
Best Icelandic Short, as well as
for runner-ups in each category.
Aside from festival submissions,
guests will also have the chance
to catch up on some of horror
classics such as the original ‘Lit-
tle Shop of Horrors,’ starring Jack
Nicholson, and soak up the creepy
ambience of wintertime Akranes.
“It’s important to bring cul-
ture to the rest of the country,”
says Lovísa, “so that people who
live here in Akranes don’t always
have to go to Rey-
kjavík for culture.
It ’s nice to have
people come to us
and experience all
that this town has
to offer. The scen-
ery is gorgeous
during the day but
it can get quite
s c a r y at n i g ht
time, especially
during the win-
ter. We thought it
would be the per-
fect venue for this
festival.”
Admission is free to all events,
and with more visitors and sub-
missions each year, Frostbiter
is sure to become a staple of Ice-
land’s film festival circuit.
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Share this + Archives
If this were a horror film, which would die first?
Eyes, paralysed with fear
“Through Viking
sagas and folk-
tales we encoun-
ter many super-
natural creatures;
ghosts, elves,
trolls and even
the Devil himself.”