Reykjavík Grapevine - jul 2022, Qupperneq 22

22 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07— 2022
Finding Family
The story of two long-lost brothers
Words: Asha Edmondson Photo: Joana Fontinha
The winner of this year’s Skjaldborg
film festival truly proves the saying
“you’re never too old.” The film,
“Velkominn Árni,” follows 77-year-old
Árni Jón Árnason on his life-changing
journey to discover his American half-
brother. Over the course of the film,
audiences watch asÁrni’s life changes
through his travels and he shifts from
being a socially-forgotten, quiet man
to a creative visionary with a new
spark in his eye.
Meeting Árni
Director Viktoría Hermannsdót-
tir first came across the story
through her radio show about the
children of Icelandic mothers and
foreign soldier fathers from World
War II. When American David
Balsam called, searching for his
half-brother, Viktoría went on the
hunt—and met Árni.
Viktoría immediately became
enamoured with Árni’s life and
character. “He’s the most open
person that I’ve met; the most
genuine person,” Viktoría said of
meeting the septuagenarian for the
first time.
From radio to film
Following the original radio show,
Viktoría knew that Árni deserved
more. Listeners reached out begging
to know more about Árni and his
story. Viktoría was intrigued as well
and decided to create a documen-
tary centred around him.

She knew director Allan Sigurðs-
son through a friend and asked him
to work with her on the documen-
tary. “When Viktoría called me and
asked me if I wanted to join in, I
hadn’t heard the radio show. So I
went and listened to that and said
‘no doubt about it’ and I’m very glad
that I did,” beamed Allan.
Árni on camera
The film chronicles David and Árni
finding each other after going their
entire lives without knowing about
the other’s existence. We get to see
David’s extended
family completely
embracing Árni
into their lives and
acting as if they’ve
known each other
forever.
Along with a
deep dive into the
familial relations,
the viewer gets a
completely raw and genuine look
into Árni’s life and character. It's
refreshing to see someone so open
and relaxed, completely embracing
themselves and their story.
Throughout the interview,
Viktoría and Allan are very careful
not to spoil anything about the film.
They clearly believe the intrigue of
Árni is captured in the magic of the
film and want to preserve that first
meeting feel for all the viewers.
“Many people change their
behaviour when they see a camera
and he’s just always himself and
lets everything out. He’s always very
genuine and super open and there’s
not one second where he’s preten-
tious or anything like that. So, that’s
very rare to find,” Allan said with
love for his new friend.
“He’s just always being himself
in every situation,” Viktoría contin-
ued.
“It’s not just an
Icelandic story”
The film resonates with any audi-
ence member and leaves you feel-
ing warm and hopeful. The journey
leads the loveable Árni to his first
true family, a feel-good story that
makes you think about your own
familial history.
“It’s not just an Icelandic story.
It’s a story that can go around the
world because it has connections
to America, children
of war, and people
who are lonely and
not assimilated into
society,” Viktoría
s a y s a b o u t t h e
breadth of the story.
“It’s a story many
people can relate
to in many ways,”
Allan recounted.
This truly is the case. We can all find
resonance with Árni’s story and
the film clearly captures the deep-
rooted human need for belonging
shared by humanity.
Be sure to look for “Velkominn
Árni” at film festivals near you and
keep an eye out on the RÚV sched-
ule at the end of the year so you, too,
can have the privilege of knowing
Árni.
Directors Viktoria Hermansdóttir & Allan Sigurðsson
A still from the movie trailer
Film 22The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07— 2022
“It’s a story
many people
can relate
to in many
ways.”
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