Youth Council
The Youth Council is a group of film enthusiasts who actively participate in shaping the festival. The council gains insight into RIFF's programming, selects films of interest, and shares their recommendations with audiences.
In addition, the council meets regularly throughout the year where we discuss ideas, receive feedback, and develop programming and events together. In this way, the council becomes an active participant in shaping the festival experience.
We are looking for curious and passionate young people who want to take part in the conversation about film, culture, and what matters to their generation.
Below are the members of the Youth Council 2026
Arína Vala
Filmmaker
Arína Vala is a film director from Reykjavík, Iceland. She currently lives in New York where she is pursuing a master's degree in filmmaking at NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. She also holds a BA in Film Studies from the University of Iceland. In 2024, she premiered her short film "Háflóð" at the Stockfish Film Festival, while her first short film, "Borgarsinfónía", was screened at RIFF in 2020. She has also directed music videos for the bands Reykjavíkurdætur and Inspector Spacetime, both of which were nominated in the category "Music Video of the Year" at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2022.
Arína Vala
Skúli Thayer
Skúli Thayer
Artist
Skúli Thayer is taking his first steps as an artist, having recently graduated from the Fine Arts department at the Iceland University of the Arts. In August, he participated in an exhibition organised by the artist-run residency OPEN, where he presented an installation and a performance. He works extensively with humour, documentation, and everyday life in his works. Although Skúli is a visual artist, he also appreciates other art forms and watches a lot of films, though the popular Minions movies will always remain his favourite.
Harpa Hjartardóttir
Filmmaker
Harpa Hjartardóttir is a master's student in film directing at FAMU in Prague and also holds a BA degree in Film Studies from the University of Iceland. She is the biggest fan of the Icelandic film Blossi/810551 and wrote her BA thesis about it as an Icelandic cult film.
Her film Pólitískur öfgamaður was recently screened at Skjaldborg, the documentary film festival in Patreksfjörður. Pólitískur öfgamaður is a short documentary about the rapper Erpur Eyvindarson.
Harpa Hjartardóttir
Una Schram
Una Schram
Musician
Una (Gíslrún Kristinsdóttir) Schram is a freelance musician, programme maker and columnist on Rás 1. She is a master's student in cultural mediation, has worked in social media at an advertising agency, and completed her BA in music and singing in the United Kingdom.
Nicholas Tumi
Filmmaker
Nikulás Tumi is an Icelandic filmmaker who is currently pursuing a Master's degree at FAMU in the Czech Republic. In 2022 he completed his Bachelor's degree in Film Studies at the University of Iceland. He has worked in music video production and programming, as well as having directed short films that have been screened at festivals across Europe, including Karlovy Vary, where his film Blue Boy was shown in 2024. In 2019 he served on the jury of the European University Film Awards (EUFA) and in 2024 he served on the jury of Smart7 as Iceland's representative at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF).
Nikulás Tumi
Melkorka Gunnborg
Melkorka Gunnborg
Playwright
Melkorka is a playwright and literary scholar. She has participated in various productions in the independent performing arts scene as author, co-author, director and assistant director, including at the summer theatre Afturámót in 2024 with the productions Hansel og Gretel and Þegar við erum ein. Recently she has worked as assistant director at the Reykjavík City Theatre in the productions Þetta er Laddi and Moulin Rouge. She has also worked in programming for Rás 1 and contributed to the shows Lestin, Tengivagninn and Víðsjá.