At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet spacecraft crash lands after a failed mission, leaving the mission commander the sole survivor of the crew. After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to assess the commander's mental health, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have followed him back to Earth... --- At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet spacecraft crash […]
A woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a modern-day nomad in a van. The film stars Frances McDormand. ---- A woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as […]
'so real, so very now' is curated by Misha de Ridder and is intended as an exercise in seeing: to look, to look again and to look anew. Perception is the point of departure for a series of experiments in video within the restraint of one minute. An open call was preceded by a workshop […]
Everything changes in the life of 15-year-old hunter Leshka when he meets an unusual girl on the computer who captivates him beyond recognition. This state of the hero, falling in love with a distant image, the hazy outlines of a stranger, leads him to perform the most daring act of his life: to embark on a dangerous voyage across the turbulent waters of the Bering Strait into […]
A young woman inherits the house of her grandmother, whom she never met, in a city she has never seen. Against her mother's wishes, she embarks on a journey to understand the pain of her past, but in doing so she causes a stir and chaos from which she can only emerge alive with the help of her deceased ancestors and […]
Correspondence Correspondence / Correspondencia Spain, Chile / 2020 / 19 min / Short Fiction Directors: Dominga Sotomayor and Carla Simón Writers: Dominga Sotomayor and Carla Simón Producers: Carla Sospedra, Maria Zamora, Dominga Sotomayor In the form of filmed correspondence, two young filmmakers discuss films, families, inheritance and motherhood. Their reflections are personal and profound and appear […]
When eighty-year-old widow Mantoa loses her only surviving son in a mining accident, she begins to prepare for her own death. Mantoa packs up her belongings and finds a man from the village to dig her grave. Her plans for a peaceful end, however, are thwarted when she learns that a reservoir is to be built in the village, […]
A few days after Christmas, half-sisters Ida and Tuva go on a diving expedition off the Norwegian coast. Towards the end of the expedition, a rock slide causes Tuva to become trapped underwater. The sisters are completely helpless and have no way to call for help. A desperate struggle for survival begins that will be the ultimate test of Ida’s skills and resourcefulness. While Ida […]
Sometimes the most unexpected roads in life are in the detours you didn't mean to take. A gripping drama follows the […]
DRIFTING REKI / 漂流 China and United States / 2019 / 16 min / Short Fiction Directors: HanXuing Bo Nordic Premiere / Nordic Premiere Yan is his parents' illegitimate second child, as he was born in China when laws and regulations stipulated that couples could only have one child. To avoid […]
Sweat recounts three days in the life of fitness influencer Sylwia Zajac, who has gained fame and fortune through her social media use. Despite having hundreds of thousands of followers, being surrounded by a dedicated staff, and being adored by everyone she knows, she is still searching for true intimacy. Sweat recounts three days in the […]
In the highest part of the Argentine highlands, in a small community located 4000 meters above sea level, lives Fidel, a llama herder. His livelihood has been repeatedly threatened by a puma that has been killing livestock. He sets out on an expedition to find the puma, where strange things are revealed about him, his ancestors, and […]
With the Icelandic Film Center as our partner, RIFF introduces a diverse Work-in-Progress showcase, presenting excerpts from the latest Icelandic film and TV productions, curated by RIFF's head of programming Frédéric Boyer. Participants will also have exclusive access to market screenings of selected projects as well as B2B meetings. PROFESSIONALS ONLY. STRICTLY UNDER REGISTRATION RSVP […]
TV series productions have increased internationally over the last few years as an effective response to the uprising of VOD platforms. Iceland has produced 10 TV series about the curse of 2020. What are the main changes that the Icelandic film industry had to overcome to adjust its strategy to match this new trend format? […]
The story of activist Greta Thunberg is told through gripping and previously unseen footage in this personal documentary by Swedish director Nathan Grossman. Grossman follows Greta - a shy high school student with Asperger's syndrome - every step of the way, documenting her journey, from her one-man climate strike outside the Swedish parliament that had the impact of a comparable […]
OUR HEARTS BEAT LIKE WAR / Zchuhit Bayam Israel / 2020 / 15 min / Short Fiction Director: Elinor Nechemya Writer: Elinor Nechemya Producers: Elinor Nechemya, Omer Harel European Premiere / European Premiere With his eyes glued to a fairy tale and his ears to the horrifying story of an Eritrean refugee, the nine-year-old falls asleep […]
The residents of a shantytown near Madrid are forced to abandon their homes after the land they live on is sold. As the process unfolds, the members of the Gabarre Mendoza family have to deal with the consequences and the changes in their lives, each in their own way. In a shantytown near Madrid, the […]
He was one of the great masters of photography, a true legend. Magnificent, witty, inventive, provocative, inspiring. This year, sixteen years after Helmut Newton's death in Los Angeles, he would have been 100 years old. A life that was like a movie now appears, for the first time, on the big screen. --- He was one of the Great Masters of photography, […]
Iceland as a post COVID production service role model. While people were quarantined around the world during the COVID-pandemic, VOD and in-demand services had enormous growth and popularity. In contrast, most worldwide productions suffered a huge cycle contraction and even completely stopped. By antithesis, Icelandic film productions never ceased, it's more, the industry experienced a flourishing [...]
The free-spirited, passionate and clever Eleanor was the youngest daughter of Karl Marx. Eleanor was among the leading women who first brought together feminism and socialism and participated in the workers' struggle, fighting for increased women's rights and the abolition of child slavery. In 1883 she met Edward Aveling and their passionate but reluctant love turned her life upside down. The film was among […]
RIFF TALKS are a series of concise and polished presentations by established creative film professionals who were willing to share their knowledge of "how to break through" where filmmakers & audiences would be inspired. RIFF Talks are held in the spirit of TED Talks but with the focus on filmmaking. Each talk is given […]
The extraordinary story of two Welsh brothers who turned their dairy farm into one of the most successful recording studios of all time. Black Sabbath, Queen, Robert Plant, Iggy Pop, Simple Minds, Oasis, The Stone Roses, Coldplay and many more recorded their music at Rockfield Recording Studios over the decades. This is a story of dreams of rock and roll, intertwined […]
There is a theory that says that we should all be born with a drop of alcohol in our blood and that this mild intoxication would open our eyes to the world around us, reduce our problems and increase our creativity. With this theory as a guide, Martin and his three friends, all tired high school teachers, decide to try […]
There is a theory that says that we should all be born with a drop of alcohol in our blood and that this mild intoxication would open our eyes to the world around us, reduce our problems and increase our creativity. With this theory as a guide, Martin and his three friends, all tired high school teachers, decide to try […]
Correspondence Correspondence / Correspondencia Spain, Chile / 2020 / 19 min / Short Fiction Directors: Dominga Sotomayor and Carla Simón Writers: Dominga Sotomayor and Carla Simón Producers: Carla Sospedra, Maria Zamora, Dominga Sotomayor In the form of filmed correspondence, two young filmmakers discuss films, families, inheritance and motherhood. Their reflections are personal and profound and appear […]
DRIFTING REKI / 漂流 China and United States / 2019 / 16 min / Short Fiction Directors: HanXuing Bo Nordic Premiere / Nordic Premiere Yan is his parents' illegitimate second child, as he was born in China when laws and regulations stipulated that couples could only have one child. To avoid […]
OUR HEARTS BEAT LIKE WAR / Zchuhit Bayam Israel / 2020 / 15 min / Short Fiction Director: Elinor Nechemya Writer: Elinor Nechemya Producers: Elinor Nechemya, Omer Harel European Premiere / European Premiere With his eyes glued to a fairy tale and his ears to the horrifying story of an Eritrean refugee, the nine-year-old falls asleep […]
Every morning, Krilli gathers the many ingredients needed to make lobster soup at Bryggjan, a small eatery in Grindavík. People come to Iceland from all over the world to see the volcanoes, the ice, and the creation of the earth. But now, the tourists and the lava fields seem to be increasingly pushing the entire village out to sea. Café Bryggjan […]
The love story of Alvar and Aino Aalto, Finnish masters of modern architecture and design. The film takes viewers on a fascinating journey through their creations and their influence around the world. The film is based on extensive research and narrated by leading scholars in the field from around the world. --------------- A love story of Alvar and Aino Aalto, Finnish masters […]
Against the Current is the amazing story of trans woman Veigu, who is the first person to row 2,000 kilometers around Iceland, against the current. But her personal journey is no less remarkable. She was born in the body of a boy in a remote fishing village in the Westfjords 44 years ago. She married and had children, but finally came out of […]
After her mother dies in a car accident, seventeen-year-old Ida moves in with her aunt, who lives with her grown sons. The home is characterized by warmth and love, but outside the home the family lives a violent life of crime. When an unexpected murder threatens the family's life and their loyalty to each other, tensions arise that make it impossible […]
In the multicultural neighborhood of Peckham in South-East London, a Bulgarian family gets into serious conflict with their neighbors due to an abandoned cat. ---- South-East London, in the multicultural neighborhood of Peckham, in a municipal building. A Bulgarian family goes into serious conflict with their neighbors due to an abandoned cat. […]
RIFF 4 Future brings together youth from the Nordic region for an online workshop within the Reykjavík International Film Festival frame to reflect on opportunities for young filmmakers in the era of New Media and Global Warming. The participants will be coached towards using filmmaking, new media and storytelling to have a say in the […]
The love story of Alvar and Aino Aalto, Finnish masters of modern architecture and design. The film takes viewers on a fascinating journey through their creations and their influence around the world. The film is based on extensive research and narrated by leading scholars in the field from around the world. ---- A love story of Alvar and Aino Aalto, Finnish masters […]
The film tells the story of the daily life that lies behind the tragedies of civil wars, brutal dictatorships, foreign invasions and interventions, and the bloodthirsty atrocities of ISIS. Disparate stories are woven together into a whole that transcends borders. --------------- Notturno, shot over three years in the Middle East, on the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, and Lebanon, recounts the […]
