bits and pieces from the northern island.
Our coverage of the Reykjavík International Film Festival 2011. Last year, more than 100,000 people read our articles and reviews – so stay tuned if you like cinema!
Anders is a 34-year old who, after having been a drug addict for a long time, is finally about to complete his rehabilitation program. Before he is fully discharged, he gets a leave permit for a job interview in Oslo. During his brief stay in Oslo, he decides to meet some of his old friends … Read the full article →
After the screening at RIFF of his The Turin Horse, which was presented at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival back in February, Hungarian film director Béla Tarr took the time to answer some questions about his latest effort. The Turin Horse will be Tarr’s final film, closing a career that started in the early … Read the full article →
In 1967, a group of young and inexperienced intellectuals decided to join forces to make a short movie. The film’s title was Paradox. The authors of the film, Níels Óskarsson and Þröstur Magnússon, never got around to completing their work and the original footage was thus forgotten for several years. Actor Sigurður Skúlason, at the … Read the full article →
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 →