Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2020, Blaðsíða 2

First 06: Child Deportations08: First Day Of Sunlight 06: Local Child Workers 15: Teenagers' Love & Sex18: Keto Restaurants32: Heart-Fisting Book Wins Prize
Bíó Paradís
proved that
an art-house
cinema can
w o r k i n
Iceland. But,
in Reykjavík’s
cut-throat rental market, only
the wildly profitable businesses
survive. Moderate success goes
bankrupt.
Bíó Paradís was founded a
decade ago in the footprint of
Regnboginn (Rainbow), one
of the oldest cinema houses
in Iceland and a place that all
Icelanders have some fond
memories of. I saw ‘Dances with
Wolves’ there when I was a kid,
in a full auditorium. I also saw
‘Pulp Fiction’ there when I was
a teenager, and later Baz Lurh-
man’s ‘Romeo + Juliet’. It closed
in the early 00’s, until Bíó Paradís
came along to bring the silver
screen back to 101 Reykjavík.
Bíó Paradís receives 20% of
its funding (roughly 70 million
ISK) from Reykjavík City, and
they serviced some 60 thousand
guests last year. By comparison,
120 thousand people caught a
show at the National Theatre in
2019 and it receives a whopping
700 million ISK annually from
the state.
Funding aside, it’s the owners
of the building housing Bíó
Paradís, property investors Karl
Mikli ehf., are raising the rent
some 300% to 400% over the
moderate rental price the cinema
has been paying in accordance
with an old lease agreement. The
house is also in bad shape and it’s
time for an extensive renovation.
This is the technicality of
things. This is why Reyjavík is
losing it’s only art-house cinema.
For us, who love cinema, this is
a tragic moment for downtown
culture. There are bigger cine-
mas in the suburbs, of course,
and some of them are wildly
successful, but they focus on
mainstream blockbusters. But
Bíó Paradís, Icelanders didn’t
have much selection of movies
outside Hollywood. Bíó Paradís
changed the scenery and proved
that not only do Icelanders want
more diversity when it comes to
cinema, they deeply appreciate it.
Everything stands or falls with
political will when it comes to Bíó
Paradís. The cinema needs more
money from taxpayers, though
that, of course, is debatable.
But the city already funds
a lot of cultural activities, like
the great Tjarnarbíó, Borgar-
leikhúsi!, and much more. And
they deserve praise for their
goodwill. We at Reykjavík Grape-
vine consider Bíó Paradís as one
of the city’s true gems. For us, it
has a special place, because there
you can find movies with English
text, something you will not find
anywhere else in Iceland. There
you can also watch new Icelandic
movies with English subtitles,
and that’s how they can touch
even greater numbers of audi-
ence. This is important for the
artists themselves.
This matters. It’s important to
us. Let’s save this cultural gem.
VG
Save Paradís
36: Hella Cool
Hella Caves
34: Icelandic National
Team of Chefs
35: Quite Mexican!
Elín Elísabet is an illus-
trator and cartoonist
born and raised in
Borgarnes. At the
tender age of 15, Elín
moved to Reykjavík
and hasn’t looked
back, except for the
annual springtime
impulse to move
someplace quiet
and keep chickens.
Elín likes folk music,
stationery, seal vid-
eos, the country of
Ireland, and eggs.
Hannah Jane Cohen is
based out of Iceland
by way of New York.
She's known for her
love of Willa Ford,
David Foster Wallace,
and other such
"intellectuals." Her
visionary work is
known for expand-
ing the definitions of
emotion, introspec-
tion, and above all
else, taste. Hannah is
also the current Drag
King of Iceland, Hans.
Alexander Jean
Edvard Le Sage
de Fontenay is a
Reykjavík-born part-
time DJ (under the
pseudonym Bervit),
event-planner and
lover of art, creation
and aesthetics. Most
recent endeavors in-
clude co-producing
The Grapevine’s own
Grassroots concerts
at Húrra and LungA
Art Festival’s busy
event schedule.
Inês Pereira gradu-
ated in Journalism
and immediately
traded the warm
coast of Portugal for
the icy landscapes of
South Iceland. From
a young age she
felt she would have
to write to express
herself, being that
she was interested in
everything and great
at nothing.
Samuel O'Donnell
Sam is an English
major from The
United States. He
has his Bachelor’s
Degree, and keeps
telling himself that
this is the year he
will begin pursu-
ing his Master’s. In
his spare time, he
enjoys playing video
games, writing short
horror stories, listen-
ing to all kinds of
metal, and reading.
Sveinbjörn Pálsson
is our Art Director.
He's responsible for
the design of the
magazine and the
cover photography.
When he's not work-
ing here, he DJs as
Terrordisco, hosts
the Funk!átturinn
radio show, or sits at
a table in a Laugarda-
lur café, drinking
copious amounts of
co"ee and thinking
about fonts.
Andie Fontaine has
lived in Iceland since
1999 and has been
reporting since 2003.
They were the first
foreign-born mem-
ber of the Icelandic
Parliament, in 2007-
08, an experience
they recommend for
anyone who wants
to experience a
workplace where
colleagues work tire-
lessly to undermine
each other.
a rawlings is Grape-
vine's literature
correspondent, also
covering environ-
mental news, travel,
and more. An inter-
disciplinary artist
whose work focuses
on environmental
ethics, dysfluency,
and watery bodies,
her books include
'Wide slumber for
lepidopterists' and
'Sound of Mull.'
Josie Gaitens is a
freelance arts project
coordinator, musician
and writer from the
Scottish Highlands.
She was once errone-
ously referred to as
the Queen of Scotland
by a Malaysian news-
paper and has been
falsely using that title
ever since.
COVER PHOTO:
Anna Magg!
CLOTHES:
Supplied by Myrka /
Harpa Einars
CLOTHES:
Supplied by Myrka /
Harpa Einars
MAKE"UP:
Atli Freyr Demantur
ABOUT THE COVER:
An intimate shoot on
a stormy night out by
the oil tanks in Grandi,
Anna shot the band
for an hour, and then
spent quite a few days
experimenting with ways
to find interesting angles
on distortion.
EDITORIAL
More info and tickets
lavacentre.is
Open every day
9:00 - 19:00
Volcano &
Earthquake
Exhibition
LAVA Centre is an awarded, interactive exhibition
on Icelandic volcanoes and earthquakes. Learn
about the most active Icelandic volcanoes and
see all the latest eruptions in 4K. Lava Centre is
a mandatory stop on your Golden Circle or South
Coast adventure.
Located in Hvolsvöllur
80 min drive from Reykjavík
Photo: Eyjafjallajökull Eruption 2010