Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.07.2013, Page 12

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12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • July 15 2013
Three Icelandic films from three different worlds take to the screens at the
13th edition of the Gimli Film
Festival from July 24-28 in
Gimli, Manitoba at four indoor
venues and a beautiful outdoor
beach screen set in Lake
Winnipeg.
The Icelandic sagas, in
which rough justice is often
violently served up with axes
swinging, might explain the
country’s fascination with films
about outlaws and its appetite
for blood-splattering gore.
Whatever the reason, Iceland
really seems to thrive on crime
thrillers, ranging from the gritty
to the slick, and Óskar Þór
Axelsson’s adaptation of Stefán
Máni’s novel of the same name,
Black’s Game (Svartur á leik),
qualifies as both.
Black’s Game is a briskly
paced, lurid romp through the
Icelandic underworld of the
late 1990s, when the drug trade
was beginning to adopt a higher
degree of “professionalism” in
its operations. Based on real
events from the time, this multi-
award-winning film combines
the slick pacing of an action film
with the gritty portrayal of life
amongst the criminal class that
doesn’t exclude a few touches of
Icelandic black humour along the
way. This is definitely not a film
for kids, but with a Trainspotting
brand of down-and-dirty appeal
for every adult who has ever
kicked over a garbage can, or
dreamed of spending a ‘Prince
Harry’ weekend in Las Vegas.
A world apart both in sent-
iment and subject matter is
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir’s
enlightening documentary A Boy
Like Her (Hrafnhildur), dealing
with the sensitive subject of
gender reassignment surgery in
Iceland. Only 20 Icelanders have
undergone a sex change. This
film, with the subtitle A Personal
Story About an Unavoidable
Journey, allows you to follow one
of them. Ragnhildur Steinnunn
shows how a timid confused boy
named Halldór is transformed
into a glowingly alive woman
named Hrafnhildur, becoming
a symbol of personal courage
that astonishes and inspires her
family, her friends, and even
herself.
The third Icelandic film at the
festival is the latest offering from
the feral children of Icelandic
cinema, Þorkell Harðarson and
Örn Marinó Arnarson, known
as the Markell brothers after
the name of their film company
Markell Productions, founded
in 2001. Renowned for their
extraordinarily wide range
of interests, they began by
exploring popular music with a
documentary on the legendary
Icelandic band HAM (2001)
and a follow-up film on Punk in
Iceland (2004). They burst onto
the world scene in 2010 with
Feathered Cocaine, a look into
the murky world of geopolitical
maneuvering in the hot spots of
the Middle East and the bizarre
connection between falconry
and the hunt for Osama bin
Laden.
The Gimli Film Festival now
brings you their latest offering,
North-Atlantic Miracle, a lyrical
wildlife documentary shot in the
pristine waters of the Icelandic
countryside, about the lifecycle
of migrating salmon – seen from
the salmon´s point of view.
More family viewing is
available every night on the
beach, with nostalgic favourites
such as Close Encounters of
the Third Kind, The Deep, and
Grease bringing back thrills,
chills and even a touch of sing-
along to this open-air cinema in
the sand.
Over one hundred films
will be shown during this five-
day festival, with new voices in
Canadian film occupying the
largest portion of the feature and
documentary categories.
The Gimli Film Festival is
the largest Canadian film festival
between Toronto and Vancouver
and its continued success is
easy to explain. It brings an
intriguing choice of films to a
non-urban film audience in the
relaxed setting of a beautiful and
historic lakeside cottage town.
And for this it enjoys the
kind of widespread community
support that film festival
directors across the country
envy and admire.
We offer help to descendents of
the emigrants who are looking
for their roots in Iceland.
For those who have decided to
visit Iceland, we offer help in
planning their journey.
Phone 354.473.1200
E-mail vesturfarinn@simnet.is
www.vesturfarinn.is Kaupvangur 2, Hafnarbyggð 690 Vopnafjörður, Iceland
Vesturfaramiðstöð Austurlands
East IcEland EmIgratIon cEntEr
642-5504Ernest Stefanson
Garry Fedorchuk
Claire Gillis
Pat Sedun
Melissa Jacobs
PHARMACISTS
Live well with
PHARMASAVE
Lighthouse Mall Gimli
PHARMASAVE
Donald G. Gíslason
Vancouver, BC
The Gimli Film Festival
Núna (now), in conjunction
with the Gimli Alternative Folk
Festival and Islendingadagurinn
is proud to present the unique
North Atlantic musical stylings
of The Snorri Helgason Band!
Islendingadagurinn
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Lakeview Harbour Stage
8:00 p.m. | Free
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Gimli Park Mainstage
6:30 p.m. | Free
Fins ‘n’ Flora
Gimli Film Festival Co-Presents
Friday July 26th, 2013
Aspire Theatre 76 2nd Avenue
8 p.m. | $8.00
Four movies that will have you
looking at trees and marine life
in a whole new way. Filmmakers
will be in attendance including
Örn Marinó Arnarson and
Þorkell S. Harðarson straight
from Iceland.
gimlifilm.com icelandicfestival.comnunanow.com
Photo: DonalD G. Gíslason