Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.05.2019, Side 34

A Mirror On All
The Things
The Skjaldborg Icelandic documentary
festival returns
Words: Andie Fontaine Photos: Atli Már Hafsteinsson
Film Festival
The festival takes place in
Patreksfjörður from June 7th-10th.
Get more info at skjaldborg.com
The medium of the documentary
has been enjoying a renaissance
lately, whether in big budget pro-
ductions or quirky and independ-
ent projects. Long before doc-
umentaries on everything from
Iceland’s volcanoes to teenagers
in Singapore making their own
film started blowing up on Netflix,
Skjaldborg—the Icelandic docu-
mentary film festival—has been
celebrating documentaries made
right here at home.
Held every year in the quiet
Westfjords village of Patreks-
fjörður, the festival returns again
on June 7th through June 10th.
Documentary filmmakers from
around the country will convene
here to showcase their creations,
meet and collaborate, listen to
guests of honour, and just enjoy
the beautiful surroundings in
which the festival is held.
Country roads
Those of us who live in Reykjavík
often operate under the assump-
tion that our city is the cultural
centre of the country, despite
a thriving creative scene in ru-
ral towns like Seyðisfjörður and
Akureyri. But why Patreksfjörður
in particular for a documentary
festival?
“One of the founders, produc-
tion designer Hálfdán Pedersen,
came to Patreksfjörður back in
2006 for a funeral and spent a
few days there,” festival organiser
Kristín Andrea Þórðardóttir tells
us. “On one of his wanderings he
came across Skjaldborgarbíó, a
cinema that was originally built as
the community hall back in 1932.
He went inside and saw a beauti-
ful cinema that is run by the Li-
ons Association.
Hálfdán, being
a n e nt h u s i a s t
about old build-
ings (yes, 1932
is old in Icelan-
dic house years)
told screenwriter
Huldar Breiðfjörð
about his discov-
ery and suggested
they’d find an ex-
cuse to use it.”
Huldar, point-
ing out that the
Icelandic docu-
mentary scene did not even have
its own festival, sparked the ger-
mination of Skjaldborg, trans-
forming it with time into a cel-
ebration of the medium replete
with “Icelandic documentary
premieres, great food, fantastic
parties, and beautiful atmos-
phere. We feel that the location
creates an intimate setting where
experienced filmmakers and be-
ginners share their experiences
and passion for the documentary
form with locals and documentary
buffs, some who come every year.”
Guest of honour
This year, the festival boasts Hed-
dy Honigmann, a Peruvian-born
Dutch documentary filmmaker.
Skjaldborg in fact kicks off with
one of Honigmann’s works, Met-
al y Melancholia, and another, El
Ovido, will be shown that evening.
As an added bonus, Honigmann
will also be leading a master class
for aspiring documentary makers.
The main event, however, are
the various Icelandic documenta-
ries which will be screened. This
year shows a tremendous line-up,
with nearly each hour of every
day filled with one creation after
another to enjoy. Following these
viewing, a panel jury will deter-
mine their personal favourites.
An intimate setting
On top of all this, admission to
the festival is free, although you
can buy an armband for 7,000
ISK, which gives you access to
the swimming pool, plokkfiskur
(Icelandic f ish
stew), a seafood
feast and admis-
sion to the dance
night at the festi-
val’s conclusion.
The whole thing
w raps up w ith
a light-hearted
parade, a l im-
bo contest, the
award ceremony,
and then dancing
into the night.
But the real treat
is the mood of the
festival itself.
“In my experience new guests
are always pleasantly surprised
about the intimate community
spirit that forms over these few
days in Patró,” Kristín Andrea
tells us. “We are all together from
morning to evening, watching
docs, taking in works in progress,
enjoying a masterclass as well as
having dinner all together and
partying in the evenings. It is this
closeness that comes with having
a festival like this all the way up
in the West Fjords versus for in-
stance downtown Reykjavík. The
founders invented this magic for-
mula with lots of fun and games
added on to the cinema experi-
ence.”
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Kristín Andrea, organiser of Skjaldborg film festival
“In my experience
new guests are
always pleasantly
surprised about
the intimate com-
munity spirit that
forms over these
few days in
Patreksfjörður.”
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