"Never choose again"

of Icelandic full-length films”

 

Icelandic cinema is held in high regard at the Reykjavík International Film Festival, which begins at Háskólabíó next Thursday, September 26th, and runs until October 6th.

The selection of feature films and documentaries, by Icelanders or about Iceland, has never been greater than at this year's RIFF, "and it is a special cause for celebration and, above all, shows the vitality and vigor of the art scene in this country," says Hrönn Marinósdóttir, director of RIFF, whose festival is now in its 21st year.

Many of the films have attracted considerable attention at film festivals recently – including: Temporary Shelter in production Helga Felixsonar which received excellent reviews at the recent Toronto Film Festival. Similarly, the Canadian film Hotel Silence which is based on the novel Scar After Auði Ava Ólafsdóttir received a lot of attention and the author was practically hailed as a rock star. Then the psychological thriller All Eyes on Me world premiere at RIFF this year, starring Gudmundur Ingi Thorvalsson, Svandís Dora Einarsdottir and Thora Karitas ArnadottirFinally, mention should be made of Duels which is based on a dance piece Erna Ómarsdóttir directed by the Swedish master craftsman Jonas Akerlund, which was a hit in Norway recently.

Of this year's full-length films, the following works are worth noting:

Darling / Beloved 

Lilja Ingólfsdóttir, Icelandic-Norwegian.

María tries to take care of her four children with the same ambition as her career, but one day she has a falling out with her husband, who as a result files for divorce.

DuEls / Duels 

Jonas Äkerlund, Icelandic-Norwegian-Swedish.

A dance piece composed by Erna Ómarsdóttir and Damien Jalet and performed amidst the magnificent sculptures at the Vígelund Museum in Oslo in a captivating artistic style.

Natatorium / Swimming pool

Helena Stefansdottir, Icelandic.

When Lilja's family, who haven't seen each other in a long time, gather to celebrate her acceptance into an art group, ugly family secrets come to the surface.

Aftergames

Ólafur Árheim, Icelandic.

A man in search of death and a woman on the run try to make amends for their violent past with further brutality, contrary to the plans of the universe – in a deeply chilling thriller.

All Eyes on Me 

Pascal Payant, Icelandic-Canadian.

Gunnar, who prefers the friendship of horses to people, meets a Polish woman on the run from the past when he goes to the scene of the accident where his wife and son crashed.

Birdlife / Birdlife 

Heimir Freyr Hlöðversson, Icelandic.

A documentary about Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson, a conservationist who is the first and only Icelander to make bird photography his profession.

Boganloch / Single 

Ben Rivers, Icelandic, Scottish, German.

Up in the Scottish wilderness, we follow Jake from one season to the next as other characters occasionally pop up in his lonely abode.

Iceland, on the Trail of Democracy 

Steve Vilhelm, French.

A new French documentary about the Icelandic household appliance revolution that emerged during the economic collapse of October 2008, its beginnings, progress and impact.

Hotel Silence / Ör 

Léa Pool, Canadian, based on the novel by Auður Öva Ólafsdóttir, Ör.

Jean travels to a war-torn country and doesn't know whether he will return or what his fate will be, as he is practically lost in his own skin.

Temporary Shelter 

Anastasiia Bortuali, Icelandic, Swedish, produced by Helgi Felixson.

A documentary about refugees from Ukraine and other countries who are based in Ásbrú, awaiting their fate and wondering if they are meant to be in that place.

When the Raven Flies 

Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, Icelandic, Swedish.

A guest returns to Iceland to avenge his parents, whom he saw murdered when he was a little boy in Ireland. A 40-year-old classic Icelandic spaghetti western.

Flowers 

Gretar Jonsson, Icelandic.

A relaxed and very heartwarming comedy about the human challenge of daring to follow one's heart and the confidence needed to follow one's dreams.

Hamraborgin – Ode to Noise / Hamraborgin – Ode to Noise 

Úlfur Eldján, Patrik Ontkovic, Icelandic.

Based on a composition by Úlfur that was performed in the Hall in Kópavogur, mixed with footage by Patrik Ontkovic who captures the raw beauty of Hamraborg on film.

 

Received a standing ovation in the Czech Republic

Lilja's egg-whispering emotional drama is a hit

 

Norwegian-Icelandic filmmaker Lilja Ingolfsdottir has the honor of being the opening film of this year's Reykjavík International Film Festival, RIFF, which opens at Háskólabíó on September 26th and runs until October 6th.

It's safe to say that the film has been a hit, as it received a standing ovation at the prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic earlier this summer and won no fewer than five awards. "The reception has been really unreal," says Lilja herself, at the Cinefest film festival in Budapest, where the film has been sold to twenty countries and is showing no signs of stopping. "I'm really giddy. I'm being invited to festivals all over the world," she adds.

Darling as the title of the film is in Norwegian, or Lovely Loveable, is Lilja's debut on the big screen, but the work premiered earlier this year in Oslo and it is safe to say that it attracted a lot of attention for its emotional content and the unique interpretation of the film's lead actress, Helga Guren which according to the review Variety is considered to show a gutsy performance in the role of Maria, who tries to take care of her four children with the same ambition as her career while her second husband, Sigmund, is constantly traveling. One day, however, she takes care of them so fiercely that the man asks for a divorce.

“The film is based on my own life experience,” Lilja explains. “My husband of fifteen years and I had a marital crisis at one time, as is often the case – and that’s where the model came from,” she continues, but not only do they still live together, to this day, but they also have four children and work closely together; Øystein Mamen is the cinematographer of the film under discussion here.

Variety further says in his review of Lilja's debut work that it is "an emotionally jagged drama" and that the film is "an unusual and clever story that seeks answers to why the second marriage in a row ends like the first, and who, if anyone, is to blame."

She says many viewers identify with the film. "They say it's absolutely true. I don't mind talking to women who tell me the film is about their daughter or their mother," says Lilja, adding that it's as if the subject matter has hit the right nerve. That's another comment.

"I don't think I've been preparing this film for more or less six years, or since 2018," recalls Lilja, who has made dozens of short films since graduating from film studies at the London Film School and later Fama in Prague in the spring of 2001. Darling is the fourth full-length film script she has written.

She lives in Oslo with Øystein and their children, having moved there at the age of nine from Iceland in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Tone Myklebost, who now follows her daughter's success at the Budapest Film Festival and elsewhere in Europe, and Ingólfur Heitin Margeirsson, a journalist and writer who died in the spring of 2011.

And she is looking forward to coming "home" to the Reykjavík International Film Festival later in September - and showing her countrymen this film of hers, which is one of the most talked about in Europe at the moment.

The festival begins, as mentioned, on September 26th at the University Cinema and runs until October 6th with a selection of high-quality films and all kinds of events worth hundreds.

Favorites of big pop stars

on the way to Iceland

 

The Swedish director Jonas Akerlund is heading to the country next week, and he will be among the guests of honor at this year's RIFF, along with the Polish-German actress Nastassja Kinski, the Greek director Athina Tsangari and then the South Korean director and Oscar winner will Bong Joon-ho honored at the festival, but all of the above will address guests and answer questions.

Åkerlund will arrive in Iceland with Duels, or The Duel in Icelandic, which is one of the most unusual films to grace the festival this year, includes a dance film based on the popular work by the Norwegian dance group Nagelhus Schia. It is composed by Damien Jalet and Erna Ómarsdóttir and first appeared on public display at the Vigelund Museum in Oslo in 2020 and was thought to unleash all the powers that emanate from the sculptures found there.

This is an unusual film in many ways and is considered a clear testament to Åkerlund's work, as the internationally awarded director often treads untrodden paths in his creations, whether in feature films, documentaries, musicals, plays or commercials, as well as music videos, in the latter field of which he has worked with many of the biggest pop stars of our time, such as Paul McCartney, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Ozzy Osbourne and bands like Duran Duran and Metallica.

He will discuss his close collaboration with these world-renowned artists, which has been long and successful, with RIFF guests.

RIFF begins at Háskólabíó on September 26th and runs until October 6th.