bits and pieces from the northern island.
Búðardalur, a small municipality in north-west Iceland, has seen its golden age in the 70’s, when the local population was at its peak, business was booming and the future appeared bright and promising for all. Thirty-something years later the situation has changed greatly: population is reduced to roughly 1/3, local economy is less than lively … Read the full article →
7 May 1986 is a date to remember for Romania. Like most of his comrades and fellow countrymen, the little bureaucrat named Iulica Ploscaru (Gabriel Spahiu) sheds a tear when the Steaua Bucharest defeats Barcelona, after an epic penalty shootout during the European Cup final in 1986. Helmuth Duckadam has become a national hero after … Read the full article →
Day three of RIFF Reykjavík Film Festival 2011. After the screening of Let England Shake, film directed by Seamus Murphy in collaboration with PJ Harvey as a visual counterpart for the British musician’s eight studio album, the photographer and film-maker had a chat with the audience. Murphy eagerly answered a few questions by the screening’s attendees, ranging … Read the full article →
Marcel Marx has seen better days. He was a bohemian once, he lived in Paris and, in his words, he was an accomplished artist. Now he has given up his ambitions, he works as a shoeshine and lives with his wife Arletty and his dog Laika in a decrepit neighborhood of the maritime city of … Read the full article →
I won’t deny that, leafing through the festival’s program, I was honestly surprised to find that a film about Paul Watson would be screened at RIFF 2011. My surprise comes from the fact whaling is a taboo topic in Iceland and, whenever it is brought up, it always provokes very strong feelings, both among the … Read the full article →
When last month rumors started circulating about the mysterious project going by the title of Inni (Inside), fans of Sigur Rós went harmlessly insane for a few hours. The most down-to-earth among them perfectly knew what to expect, while others started fantasizing and conjuring all sorts of ideas on Inni being a new album and … Read the full article →
Year two of our attendance to RIFF, Reykjavík International Film Festival. Traditions are not always meant to be broken and this year’s opening event was, as the previous, characterized by an extremely relaxed atmosphere. Nasa, a hugely popular club located in downtown Reykjavík, was the unusual setting for the event. Host of the night was … Read the full article →
Countdown to RIFF’s opening: the festival is starting tomorrow with Vincent Morisset’s documentary on Sigur Rós, Inni, which is one of the most awaited appointments of the 2011 edition of Iceland’s best-known film event. As RIFF’s main purpose is always to offer a space to emergent film-makers, the twelve films in competition in the New Visions … Read the full article →