Reykjavík Grapevine - Mar 2020, Page 30

30The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 03— 2020Culture
Reclaimin! The
Power Of Tramp:
Klassa Drusla
Ólöf Birna Torfadóttir talks about her first
feature-len!th film
Words: Andie Sophia Fontaine Photo: Aleksandra Wierzbowska
Iceland has not made a lot of female
buddy comedies; something that
filmmaker Ólöf Birna Torfadóttir
has been very aware of. She means
to change that with her first fea-
ture-length film, ‘Klassa Drusla’
(‘Classy Tramp’).
“The idea came to me in 2015,
the concept being how you wish you
were versus how you actually are,”
she tells us. “For example, you’re
going to a party and you’re going
to be smooth, hot and confident,
but then when you get there you’re
basically wallpaper. That’s how
these two main characters of the
film came about.”
Gals being pals
‘Klassa Drusla’ tells the story of
Tanja, a young woman who’s tired
of being lovesick and turns to her
best friend, Karen, for help being a
“classy tramp.” The two get a sum-
mer job in the countryside and end
up having many hilarious misad-
ventures.
“In ‘Klassa Drusla’ we have two
very strong female leads. I can’t re-
member another Icelandic female
buddy comedy, which is a shame
cause women and their stories are
so very often hilarious and relata-
ble and I really felt that throughout
the process of shooting,” Ólöf says.
“There were a lot of women in the
crew who worked with me on set
and every one of them had a story
that was similar to what we were
shooting. And so that’s why I want-
ed to tell this story, I feel like people
are ready and wanting more genres
and different films in theatre.”
Taking the power back
The story draws from Ólöf’s person-
al life in many ways, as it has been
split between living in the country-
side—specifically, the Westfjörds
and East Iceland—and Reykjavík.
Although she likes to stay close to
Reykjavík for work, Ólöf describes
herself as “a farm girl through and
through”.
In reference to the film title,
it should be noted that the word
“drusla” has two meanings: it can
mean both “slut” and “tramp,” as in
someone who wears shabby, worn-
out clothes. Ólöf’s family didn’t
have a lot of money, so she didn’t
have the finest clothes growing up,
prompting bullying from her peers.
“This word has always followed
me and been said to me in a neg-
ative way as if that makes me less
important than anyone else so I
want to take the power back and
own it,” she says. “I am who I am, I
dress as I dress and it’s really none
of anyone's business. So that title
comes with a little attitude, putting
the word klassa (classy) in front of
tramp or slut says it all.”
Ólöf has numerous irons in the
fire, and is especially excited about
the television projects she has in
development, amongst them, “...a
horror-comedy about a women’s
sewing circle, a time travel/histor-
ical series about Icelandic women
through time, and a teenage ghost
drama.”
Ólöf Birna: "I want to take the power back and own it."
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'Klassa Drusla' premieres on
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