Iceland review - 2016, Page 22

20 ICELAND REVIEW
LIFE IN LIGHT AND
SHADOW
Rúnar Rúnarsson’s films about people journeying through life have
touched audiences worldwide and earned him countless awards
including the Silver Hugo award for new directors at the Chicago
International Film Festival.
BY EYGLÓ SVALA ARNARSDÓTTIR. PORTRAIT BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON. OTHER PHOTOS BY SOPHIA OLSSON.
All my stories are about charac-
ter development. I tend to write
either about older people or ado-
lescents,” says young writer and direc-
tor Rúnar Rúnarsson (born in 1977)
as we meet in early October, shortly
after the Iceland premiere of his teen
drama Sparrows (Þrestir) at Reykjavík
International Film Festival (RIFF). In
September, the film won the main prize
at the 2015 San Sebastián International
Film Festival, making Rúnar the sec-
ond Icelandic director to boast such
an achievement at an A-List festival.
In October, Rúnar received some more
feathers in his cap when Sparrows won
the 1-2 Competition at the Warsaw Film
Festival, the 1-2 referring to either the
first or second film of a competing direc-
tor, and the Silver Hugo award in the
festival’s new directors competition at
the Chicago International Film Festival.
“It’s the transitional periods in the lives
of both generations that fascinate me,” he
explains. “With the older generation, it’s
the realization that life isn’t endless and …
with the younger generation it’s the loss of
innocence and stepping into adulthood,”
he elaborates. “For some, it’s the best time
of their lives, for others, the worst.”
LEARNING PROCESS
Rúnar has only made one other full-
length feature film, the critically-ac-
claimed Volcano (Eldfjall) in 2011. The
main character, Hannes, as portrayed
in the award-winning performance of
Theódór Júlíusson, is having a hard
time facing retirement, taking it out on
his family, then trying to make up for
it. Despite his short career, Rúnar has
an impressive track record. His second
funded short film, Two Birds (Smáfuglar,
2008), a coming-of-age story, is one of
the most awarded short films in history,
while his first, Last Farm (Síðasti bærinn,
2004), featuring an old man preparing to
leave his farm for good, landed him an
Oscar nomination.
The Last Farm’s accomplishment at fes-
tivals was Rúnar’s “ticket” to the respect-
ed National Film School of Denmark, as
he puts it. When the Oscar nominations
were announced, he had just begun his
studies there. “As soon as young peo-
ple prove successful, headhunters from
agencies arrive, making tempting offers,”
he says. “But I didn’t consider myself a
fully-educated filmmaker; rather that I
had overachieved. Now I had to perform
well at school and deliver so that I could
reach the standard I appeared to be at.”
Before Rúnar, only one other Icelander,
Dagur Kári, had studied at the filmmak-
ing department of the National Film
School of Denmark. “Only six students
are accepted into each department every
two years. Since my graduation [in 2009],
Hlynur Pálmason has also completed
his studies at the school—he’s premier-
ing his debut this winter—Elsa María
[Jakobsdóttir] is currently studying there
and another [Icelandic] woman com-
menced her studies there [last] autumn,”
Rúnar reveals, referring to Katrín
Björgvinsdóttir.
Rúnar’s films have been co-produced
in Denmark, and when covering their
success in the media, the Danes have
laid claim to him. “And rightly so,” says
Rúnar. “It was my fortune [that I could
study there]. They financed my studies
and it cost more than educating a jet
fighter pilot. If I hadn’t been accepted
into the school, I would have made
neither film.” He explains that making
feature films is an expensive project—
the average Icelandic film totaling ISK
220 million (USD 1.7 million)—and
that Icelandic filmmakers wouldn’t stand
a chance if funding didn’t come from
abroad. Sparrows is an Icelandic-Danish-
Croatian co-production.
FINDING HIS ELEMENT
When asked whether he always intended
to make films, Rúnar responds: “It was
by coincidence that I made my first short
film. I had worked as a DJ, written, taken
photographs and painted, but didn’t find
myself in any of it. Then, during my
first year in junior college [Hamrahlíð
College in Reykjavík], there was a long
teachers’ strike. My friend Grímur
Hákonarson [director of award-winning
Rams (Hrútar), 2015] had a video camera