Reykjavík Grapevine - Jun 2023, Page 15

15 Culture
The
Grapevine’s
Top Picks
SKJALDBORG:
ICELANDIC DOCUMENTARY
FILM FESTIVAL
May 26–29
Patreksfjörður
10.000 ISK
Are you into watching real things
happen on screen? Not that Love
Is Blind shit, we’re talking fully un-
scripted, no producer interference,
anything can happen realness. You
just might be a documentary fan.
Since 2007, the Westfjords hamlet
of Patreksfjörður has become
syn onymous with documentary
cinema, hosting a festival dedi-
cated to the genre over the Whitsun
weekend each year. International
guest speakers, masterclasses and
parties abound. If you love docs and
need an excuse to head west, look
no further. RX
CARMINA BURANA
Thursday, June 1
20:00
Harpa Eldborg
2.700–7.700 ISK
That iconic opening boom of
timpani, the explosion of a choir
bellowing “O Fortuna!” Who doesn’t
recognise this iconic piece of music
as Carmina Burana? If you aren’t
familiar with Carl Orff’s adaptation
of medieval manuscripts about
drinking, loving and God, then
sur prise surprise: that song is just
the tip of the iceberg! The Iceland
Symphony Orchestra, several solo-
ists and six of the finest choirs in
Iceland will perform the entire epic
symphony for one night only. Don’t
miss it. RX
ACIDFEST ICELAND
May 20–21
Gallery Kaktus, Akureyri
Free
May 25–27
Various locations in Reykjavík
Free–2.700 ISK
Tune in and drop out at the second
edition of Acidfest Iceland, a music
festival dedi cated to trippy music
and good vibes. Put on by the
Liverpool Psychedelic Society and
Creation Dream Machine, the first
edition took place on Snæfells -
nes last year. This time it’s hitting
Reykjavík and Akureyri, with a lineup
of over a dozen bright artists – the
perfect ad venture for musical dis-
covery. The Reykjavík events will take
place at 12 Tónar, Kex Hostel, Lucky
Records, Lemmy and Gaukurinn. RX
WORDS Catharine Fulton
IMAGE Supplied
Iceland has a shockingly flour-
ishing startup scene for such a small
country. Or maybe it’s not sur prising
at all and the island’s small size
necessitates the indi vidual creation
of new creative and business ven-
tures to avoid stagnation. What ever
the reason, the entrepreneurial
landscape appears to be in constant
bloom.
Enter Iceland Innovation Week,
an annual festival celebrating and
showcasing innovation while prom-
ising “insights into the dynamic
world of Icelandic venture capital
and funding trends from top industry
experts.” Founded in 2019, the IIW
is happening again May 22 to 26,
promising opportunities for startups
to connect with potential investors
and solution-minded entrepreneurs
to rub shoulders with policy makers
and other agents of change.
“All the other Nordic countries have
huge festivals aiming to showcase
their innovation scene,” says festival
director Melkorka Sigríður Magnús-
dóttir. “Iceland didn’t have anything
like that, so that’s kind of how it all
started.”
BUSINESS, BUT MAKE
IT QUIRKY
Melkorka wasn’t interested in
founding an event that would usher
hundreds of delegates into a stuffy
room for long days of talks and
presentations. Instead, IIW is
decentralized, with happenings un-
folding in various locations around
Reykjavík, giving companies the
opportunity to play host and attend-
ees a chance to see more than an
auditorium.
“We have everything from karaoke
parties in a startups headquarters to
panel discussions about innovation
in the public sector,” Melkorka says
of the agenda. “We have a failure
night, where people from different
companies talk about their failures
and fuck up stories, and we have
nights dedicated to climate talks
and so on.”
As Melkorka explains it, the vibe the
IIW team is aiming to capture is akin
to the sense of discovery one would
get in the early days of the Iceland
Airwaves festival, when you could
stumble into a bar or storefront and
happen upon a performance from
what could be the next big musical
superstar. “We want you to be able
to almost randomly pop into an
office for a happy hour and see
the CEO of the next big unicorn
company talking in a more intimate
setting,” Melkorka elaborates.
“I think that’s what Iceland and the
festivals we hold here offer: this
cool and quirky atmosphere where
everything can happen serendipi-
tously.”
FIVE THEMES AND
A STAGE PRODUCTION
All the talks, events, happy hours and
other happenings throughout IIW fall
into one (or more) of the festivals five
themes: Fun & Games, highlighting
startups in the gaming and entertain-
ment sector; Greener Than Green,
which includes innovations tackling
the climate crisis; Everybody Loves
Everybody, dedi cated to discussions
of di versity; Techno – Tech Yes!,
which (you guessed is) is all about
the wonders of technology; and
Food Mood, focussing on innovation
in food and drink production. Also
wrapped into the week’s agenda are
the Nordic Startup Awards.
Then there’s the climate conference
within the festival.
Ok, Bye is where Melkorka’s back-
ground in choreography and perfor-
mance really come into play. Named
for Ok, the most recent ice cap in
Iceland to melt to the point of losing
its glacial status, Ok, Bye intertwines
serious discussion about the climate
crisis and the role of innovators in
alleviating environmental stressors,
with thematic artistic, visual and
musical performances.
“We wanted to create something
that’s like going to the theatre. So
we created a concept for the year
and then we create a script around
all our speakers who are com-
ing and all the topics that they’re
addressing,” Melkorka says of the
performative approach to a climate
conference. “So last year, we wel-
comed everybody to an Icelandic
campsite recreated on stage and
this year we’re welcoming every-
body to an Icelandic oceanfront,
where we were going on a boat trip
to learn about the ocean and the
problems and challenges we are
facing.”
“I think Iceland is a perfect place to
discuss these things because this
is literally where we can see the
glaciers melting in front of our eyes
and the sea levels rising.”
READY TO BE INSPIRED
Melkorka is expecting 700 attend-
ees at this year’s festival – half of
them coming from abroad – in-
cluding founders, investors and
policy makers. But it’s not strictly an
event for those with an established
business on an upward trajectory
or with big money to throw around.
It’s an equally good opportunity to
learn, network and maybe dust off
that startup idea you’ve had kicking
around the back of your mind.
As Melkorka says, “it’s a place for
everybody to get inspired.”
Iceland Innovation Week takes
place May 22–26, at Gróska and
several other locations in and
around Reykjavík. Check out the
full schedule and buy festival passes
at InnovationWeek.is. Many of the
week’s happenings are open to the
public, too.
I think Iceland is a perfect
place to discuss these things
because this is literally where
we can see the glaciers
melting in front of our eyes
and the sea levels rising.
We want you to be able to
almost randomly pop into an
office for a happy hour and
see the CEO of the next big
unicorn company talking in
a more intimate setting.
Happening Embracing Innovation,
Finding Inspiration
Iceland Innovation Week returns to showcase the big ideas of Icelandic startups