Youth Impact
Film can help viewers of all ages open their mind and lead to critical thought and discussion. As a sub-section of the Impact focus we have designed two events for our younger audience.
Although all are welcome, the events below are specifically designed for audiences ages 11-18.
Hello World
October 1 | 12:30 – 14:45 | Háskólabió
Hello World (Hei Verden) is a celebration of kids and young people who have the courage to be different and take pride in their identities, whether it’s coming out, coloring their hair blue or dressing without conforming to gender. While their classmates and friends are doing everything to fit in, Runa 12, Dina 13, Viktor 12, and Joachim 14, are defining themselves differently. They are the first people to be openly gay in their classes and the youngest ones in their respective communities to come out. But building pride is not easy in a world where hate messages are just a click away, and even harder in schools where administration and education systems seek to erase and marginalize outstanding voices. What is it really like to be the only open queer in the whole school? Told through the eyes of the four young people, the film gives us a window into understanding what it is like to grow up as a queer. What goes around in your head when you have actually decided to tell the outside world that you are queer, but the school asks you to wait so they can „prepare“ the news first? Or when a teammate on the handball team accuses you of looking too much in the shower after training? And how are you going to find a date for the prom when you’re the only one at school who’s out of the closet? Will life as an open queer become easier over time?
Hello World, is a fun, engaging and moving coming-of-age story about being true to yourself.
RIFF celebrates diversity with a special screening of Hello World, followed by a discussion on the importance of being yourself and self-expression through art.
Free soft drinks and snacks will be served after the event, provided by the Norwegian Embassy. Ambassador Aud Lise Norheim say a few words at the end of the panel.
Moderated by Bassi Maraj
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Bassi Maraj is one of the first gay Reality TV Stars in Iceland and the first comercially succesfull gay rapper. He is a participant in the reality show Fyrsta blikið (First Look) and released the iconic hit single Bassi Maraj.
Kenneth Elvebakk is a Norwegian director. He is primarily known for his documentaries but has also made several short films and TV series. His work includes the award-winning documentaries Ballet Boys (2014), 3269 Daisy (2007), the tv-series Hullaballoo (2006) and The Secret Club (2003). His latest film Hello World (2021) has also won several international awards. Elvebakk has worked five years for The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) – both in TV and radio. For the past 20 years, he has worked freelance as a director, focusing on LGBTIQ+ and coming-of-age stories. He received his education from The University of Oslo, The Norwegian School of Management and The Film and Television Academy in Oslo. For Kenneth, documentary storytelling is about helping to create change.
Viktoria Guðnadóttir is an artist born in Iceland but lives and works in the Netherlands. She was awarded a B.A. degree in Fine Art from Art EZ (AKI) and a Postgraduate degree from the Dutch Art Institute in the Netherlands. Holding a mirror In front of people and creating situations that challenge their comfort zone are the main focal points of her art. Her work responds to the world around us: media representations of violence, minority groups in society, and the ugliness and beauty that can be found in the smallest things. In her work, she also articulates her political views, and does not shy away from expressing her identity whether it be national, feminist or sexual identity. Viktoria applies a variety of materials and media to her work. Such as video, photographs and paintings in her installations. Viktoria works have been exhibited in both private and group exhibitions around the world such as Germany, Iceland, China, Russia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Dr. Rannveig Sigurvinsdóttir is an associate professor at the Department of Psychology, Reykjavik University. Her research focuses on violence and trauma, such as the impact of sexual violence and intimate partner violence on survivors. She has published work on the impact of post-assault disclosures of sexual assault on survivors, the mental health of sexual minority sexual assault survivors, the safety and well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence as well as community and legal interventions for trauma victimization.
The One Minutes Jr. Ukraine
October 8 | 13:00 – 14:30 | Háskólabió
What is the influence of war on daily life in Ukraine? What is it like to grow up in a conflict zone? To live in constant fear? What dreams do young people hold for the future?
In 2016 and 2017, The One Minutes Jr. went to Ukraine multiple times for workshops with young people in Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Dobropillia, Kharkiv, Liman, Mariupol, Militopol, Severodonestk, Sloviansk and Volnovakha to find answers to these questions.
In 2022, with the war in the Ukraine, these films are highly topical and at the request of International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, a compilation was made of 46 One Minutes.
After the screening there will be a panel about the ongoing horrors in Ukraine and specifically how they effect young Ukrainians and how art can be a form of activism and expression. In collaboration with Artists4Ukraine.
Moderator: Katla Þ. Njálsdóttir
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Katla Þ. Njálsdóttir is a singer and actress born in 2002, known for Heartstone (2017), Prisoners (2017), Fractures (2022) and Söngvakeppnin 2022. Katla started her career at 13 in the film Heartstone by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson. Her next role was Rebekka in the TV-series Prisoners directed by Ragnar Bragason. The series premiered on RÚV (The Icelandic National Broadcasting service). They series aired across Europe, including on Netflix. Katla’s latest film projects include the short film Signals (2022) by Rúnar Ingi Einarsson. As well as Fractures (2022) , TV-series directed by BAFTA nominated producer Eva Sigurðardóttir. Katla plays one of the leading roles in Fractures. The show has premiered on RÚV, now it is airing across Europe, the U.S and Canada. Katla also played a small role in the upcoming film Reply to a Letter from Helga (2022) directed by Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir. Katla also has experience in theater. She took part in the Queen musical We Will Rock You (2019), where she played Scaramouche, one of the two leading roles. We Will Rock You did 8 full shows in Háskólabíó, the show was directed by Vignir Rafn Valþórsson. Next up was the role of 14 year old Ella in the dramedy Am I My Mother? (2020-2022) in the Reykjavík City Theater. The writer and director was María Reyndal, they did a total of 38 shows. Katla hosted Skrekkur in 2021, Skrekkur is a talent competition for teenagers in Reykjavík, is celebrated every year on the big stage at The Reykjavík City Theater and live on national television. Katla’s latest stage works are the musical The Fruit Basket (2022) in Silfurberg Harpa, directed by Guðjón Davíð Karlsson. Katla got through to the final round in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2022, the Icelandic national final for Eurovision. She sang the song Þaðan af, by JóiPé, Króli, Ceasetone and Snorri Beck. Katla was accepted to the acting department at Iceland University of the Arts in 2022.
Julia van Mourik is Director of The One Minutes Foundation, the platform for experimental video art that works closely with various arts education institutions in the Netherlands and internationally, and she is Director of the artist salons Lost & Found: an eclectic mix of visual art, video, performance, outsider art, amateur art, music, literature, design, science and more. Before that she was, among other things, Financial Director of Top Publishers, which publishes the magazines Fantastic Man and The GentleWoman, and Executive Editor of Re-Magazine. She was Member of the curatorial team of The 3rd Shenzhen Independent Animation Biennale, Advisor to the Netherlands Film Fund and Dutch Cultural Media Fund, Researcher for Exploding Cinema/International Film Festival Rotterdam and she worked on the publicity of the Academy Award-winning film ‘Antonia’. Julia van Mourik studied Publicity and Culture in Amsterdam and did residencies at Raid Projects Gallery in Los Angeles and Townhouse Gallery in Cairo.
Artists4Ukraine started in the first days after the Invasion of Ukraine. Swedish born Artist Julia Mai Linnéa Maria asked If it could be possible to start an art auction to raise funds for Ukraine and American born Icelandic-Ukrainian Artist Alexander Zaklynsky jumped to the chance to help. In the days since we organised Artists4Ukraine which is an artist-run fundraising initiative. As artists we watched the nightmare developing and felt helpless. What could we do to help as artists with no money or capacity in a far off land to make any difference directly. We decided the best thing in the short run was to raise money for charities through art and engaging the public, showing solidarity and initiative to shed light on the ways people could help.
Alexander Zaklynsky is an American Born Icelandic-Ukrainian Artist who’s creations are meditative explorations of perspective, colour and structure. “I aim to build visual experiences that lead the viewer into a state of reflection and pause,” says Zaklynsky, who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design through the Sculpture Department in 2000 with a BFA and through the Royal Conservatory and Royal Academy of Art in Den Haag with a Master in Fine Art in 2017. In his paintings, Zaklynsky reveals a collage sensibility, using layering and combinations of color, patterns and imagery to create depth. An artist, designer and curator who has worked with a broad range of media and techniques, Zaklynsky often thinks of his paintings as two dimensional sculptures, or as sketches for audio/ visual installations. He recently returned from Den Haag, Netherlands, his home since 2015. He has lived in Iceland since 2005 where he co founded the Lost Horse Gallery as a venue for local and international artists. Transformed in 2010 into an art production, fabrication and design company called Lost Horse Ehf which was closed in 2015 upon moving to Den Haag for his Master studies. in 2021 he moved back from Holland where he Exhibited extensively and in 2017 initiated as the conceptual founder the Moon Gallery which is currently on the International Space Station. The Gallery arrived to the space station just a few days before the war in Ukraine started. Pivoting to work on helping Ukraine, Zaklynsky became co-founder of Artists 4 Ukraine. Artists 4 Ukraine has became a Legal NPO / Charity organisation Based in Iceland with the main goal of raising funds for and awareness of charities working in and for Ukraine.
Olga Zherebetska is an Ukrainian fashion designer and artist, born and living in Lviv. She graduated from I.Trush Lviv Art State College of Decorative & Fine Arts and IED Academy in Milan. Olga lived in Shanghai for 6 years, where she collaborated with fashion designers and was the ambassador of Shanghai Fashion Week. In 2017 Olga won the Epson digital fashion contest within the framework of Ukrainian Fashion Week. 2017-2022 founded Ultrasound clothing project. Ultrasound clothing – conceptual men’s and women’s clothing. Prints for the collections were specially designed with the help of an ultrasound machine, by Candidate of Medical Sciences – Ukrainian conceptual artist Askold Kucher. Ultrasound graphics is a kind of media painting, which contrasts with environments with different physical (acoustic) properties, is a digital art that is created using ultrasound equipment and reflects the statics and dynamics of the liquid physical body.
