It is the RIFF Reykjavík International Film Festival, which is in collaboration with LongShots along with 12 other film festivals around the world, that nominated The Housewife School along with four other Icelandic films.
The Housewife School, however, was one of 13 films selected for participation out of 110 nominees.
LongShots is a film festival held annually by the BBC on the World Wide Web in collaboration with film festivals around the world including RIFF.
Festival policy
The films selected for inclusion are stories that are both inspiring and exciting, stories that celebrate new beginnings and the magic of human existence in a world that is both diverse and colorful. Films that make the heart beat and even inspire wonder as urgent issues are addressed through the effective focus of the cinematic lens. The goal is, above all, to celebrate the beauty in diversity.
Festival review from the BBC
"This will be the festival of festivals," says BBC Reel US Editor Anna Bressanin. "We want to give audiences the opportunity to discover and see films they would otherwise only have been exposed to by travelling from Reykjavík to Tel Aviv, films that are shown for a week at a great festival and then disappear from view until some of them appear on a streaming service somewhere someday. Personally, I found this valuable collaboration to choose the program in collaboration with International Festivals who are highly regarded for their commitment to offering a great program every year. This year, the theme of LongShots is togetherness and celebrating how powerful the film form is in uniting us as people.
There were 110 films nominated for participation this year from 13 International Film Festivals. The films come from various countries and you can see a list of the festivals below. Of the 110 submitted films, 13 were selected for participation, one from each festival.
Hrönn Marinósdóttir on why the Housewives' School was nominated
"It is interesting to see how a school like the Housewives' School, which is built on traditions that are disappearing from our society, has over the years had to adapt to new times. The headmistress, Margrét Dóróthea Sigfúsdóttir, is a remarkable woman who has succeeded in adapting the school's old-fashioned role to the modern world, and she has now led the Housewives' School for 20 years. In addition, she is a fountain of wisdom when it comes to all kinds of household tips that everyone can use."
About the documentary "The Housewives' School"
The documentary The Housewife School, directed by Stefania Thor, explores the lost world of the Icelandic housewife and how the school's role has changed over the years. The film reflects the past through interviews with older students of the school and through valuable old videos that show how important a role it played for future Icelandic housewives in the middle of the last century. At the same time, students at the school from 2016 are followed and how much the school's image has changed. Speculations about the role of the housewife school today, both in terms of outdated gender roles and the loyal core values such as efficiency, clothing maintenance, environmental awareness and combating food waste, to name a few.
The film is a unique contemporary source about the Reykjavík Housewives' School, which is still open to interested students, despite uncertainty about its future and possible imminent closure.
Selected photos
Transnistria (Transnistria)
Intimate portraits of teenagers in an unrecognized Soviet territory
The Viewing Booth (US, Israel, Palestine)
New insights into the most disputed videos from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
The School of Housewives (Iceland)
The Nordic school that creates the perfect housewife
Moti Bagh (India)
The disappearing village where huge radishes grow
Dream in Silence (US/China)
Why it's never too late to create your masterpiece
Soldier (Argentina)
The surreal life of a soldier in a country at peace
Kosher Beach (Israel)
Inside the secluded beach for orthodox Jewish women
The Swing (Lebanon)
Would you lie to your father on his deathbed?
Baroness (Brazil)
Life in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world
Maricarmen (Mexico)
What life is really like if you are blind
The Letter (Kenya)
The intricate story of deadly witchcraft accusations
Los Reyes (Chile)
Drugs, dogs and dating in a city park
The Kiosk (France)
The disappearing Parisian kiosk that sells dreams
Film festivals that handle nominations
- Docaviv (Israel)
- Docs Lisbon (Portugal)
- Documentary festival (Kosovo)
- Encounters South Africa (South Africa)
- El Gouna Film Festival (Egypt)
- Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata (Argentina)
- First Look (US)
- Guangzhou Int. Documentary Film Festival (China)
- International Film Festival of Kerala (India)
- Jeonju IFF (South Korea)
- Cinema Tropical (US covering South America)
- Reykjavik International Film Festival (Iceland)
- Docs Mx (Mexico)
