Discoveries from Iceland World Cinema

Árni Egilsson is considered to be among the finest double bass players in the world. Jón Páll a guitarist and a natural born talent. Skúli Sverrisson, an electric bass player, who at the age of 30 has gained recognition as one of New York's finerst young talents. This creative documentary in three parts is shot on location in California and New York. Fine cinematography an those three strong individuals result in a unique and entertaining television program.

Five Icelandic boys formed a jazz-rock and fusion band called Mezzoforte. Soon they made their hit single "Garden Party" and ahead were days of adventures, travelling and big city lights.

We follow a highlander who is reborn thorughout the centuries whenever historical events take place.

A portret of the Cobra artist Svavar Guðnason. His life and his art - sources - influences and how he became one of the greatest abstract painters amongst Nordic artists.

A documentary about the pedagogic theories of Loris Malaguzzi and their application in Icelandic primary schools.

A news documentary about the negotiations of EFTS members (European Free Trade Association) with EBE (EEC European Economic Community), with a special emphasis on Icelandic issues.

Jan Mayen is a narrow island, 50 km long, northeast of Iceland. It belongs to Norway which has a weather- and military station situated there. The island is uninhabited but still has remains of the whaling and fox hunting that once took place there. Birdlife is abundant and a very beautiful stratovolcano, Beerenberg (2200m) crowns the island. The volcano is active, last eruptions occurring in 1970 and 1984.

A film about the life and work of the Icelandic poet Matthías Jochumson.

A retrospective of the Icelandic cinema from 1980-1990.

A documentary programme about jewish refugees who settled in Iceland in the 1930's.

A documentary film about the Icelandic politician Jónas Jónsson frá Hriflu.

Thorsteinn Jónsson is a living legend in both the aviation world and the "regular" world. When he flew his last flight in 1988, after 46 years in the air, he was the pilot with the highest amount of flight time in the world: most of it employed in adventurous and dangerous flights. This film follows Thorsteinn in his last flight, and walks down memory lane with him where his sparkling recital, and period footage, tells of his years as a pioneer aviator in Iceland, fighting pilot in the second world war, salvation flights into war-torn Biafra, and numerous other interesting and amusing tales.

An interesting and colorful account of the Icelandic band, Strax, on a tour of China. Received with all the enthusiasm and acclaim normally accorded to superstars, the members of the band make sure their vast audiences are not disappointed.

This film shows three different methods for catching herrings which Icelanders have used in the past century. The use of the nets is illustrated with animated graphics and then matched with live action on board. Live footage is shot off the south and east coast of Iceland.

A film about the island of Viðey in Kollafjörður and its manifold role in Icelandic history.

A documentary about Icelandic immigrants who moved to Brazil in the 19th century. Their path is traced and a visit paid to some of their descendants.

About the lowest class in society, female industrial workers. The film tells of one such person and her struggle for struggle for survival.

A documentary film about a garbage collector and his views on life.

The story of salvage operations in the wake of the 1973 Westman Island eruption. The 5.000 inhabitants were evacuated in a matter of hours as lava and ash destroyed a large part of the town. The fight with the encroaching lava; dramatic night shots of the erupting volcano; the massive clean-up task after the eruption. The town is once more Iceland's busiest fishing port.

A guided tour to places to Hallgrímur Pétursson. (A famours Icelandic poet of psalms.) The film includes some staged sequences from his life.

An educational film about a new type of trawler which had considerable effects on the fishing industry in its time (around 1947)

A programme dedicated to the Icelandic artist Ríkarður Jónsson.

A film about the island of Flatey in Breiðafjord,

The film gives a strong view of the everyday life of Icelanders when the film is shot, but that year was a record year for the export of herring products and herring fishing and herring salting therefore cover a large part of the film.

A 12 years old girl is playing with her friends outside her home with the remote controlled car of her brother. The car ends up in the neighbouring garden were the neighbour grabs it and drives away with it. There starts the dangerous chase for the lost car.

This documentary is about Sigrún Þuríður Geirsdóttir, the first Icelandic woman to swim across the English Channel. She is also the first woman to swim the famous Eyjasund (from the Westmann Islands to the south coast of Iceland). In addition Sigrún has also swam the English Channel in a relay team three times. The film tells Sigrún's story and her incredible endurance. It took her 22 hours. and 34 min to complete the swim but she became sea sick for 7 hours. Sigrún had no background in sports and learned how to swim only three years earlier. The documentary is 70 minutes long and contains a lot of footage from Sigrún's swim. In 2020 the president of Iceland honored Sigrún Þuríður Geirsdóttir the Order of the Falcon, the highest honour that the Icelandic state can bestow on individuals.

The Icelandic music scene is vibrant, diverse, and beautiful. With the help of the Iceland Airwaves music festival, the creativity and infrastructure to support the artists grows stronger year after year. The film follows the festival from its humble beginnings to its international acclaim.

Baldur is a shy, soft-spoken man and a local legend of his remote valley in Iceland. He has a dream: Meeting his long-lost friend who is living on a distant shore on an Island in the Pacific ocean. Who is Baldur's friend? What magnificent experiences do they share from the past?

A portrait of Reykjavík in color.

A portrait of Reykjavík in color.

Soð is an Icelandic cooking show but this episode is different: It started when artist Christopher Tym asked Kristinn Guðmundsson (the show’s creator) if he could guest direct an episode of the show, but after the first draft went very wrong, the final result ended up becoming a bizarre self-reflexive film about friendship, cooking and film-making. It was funded by an Icelandic television channel but was eventually cut from the programming due to it’s ‘unconventional’ form.

Katrin is a woman who knows what she wants. She's had enough of the snow and ice. And sheep that always want to be fed. When she meets the Grizzler, a wanderer , her life takes a sharp turn towards the unexpected.

In the year 1948 while travelling in east Iceland painter Jóhannes Kjarval camps on a plot of land in Hjaltastaðaþinghá which he falls in love with and where he decides to build himself a cabin.

Scenes and interviews from Leonard Cohen's visit to Iceland in 1988.

A portrait of the life and work of the visual artist Birgir Andrésson (1955–2007). Andrésson grew up under unconventional circumstances, with both parents blind. He was known for his marginal personality but eventually became one of the leading Icelandic artists of his generation.

Clay animation. The story of an industrial worker whose inflated ego produces a monster.

At the change of seasons, Planty comes to life. He is attacked by a bumble bee.

An angel is on his way home from work and finds himself in trouble.

A short computer animated, action packed valiant adventure film from the middle ages about a princess picking flowers. It started its life with knights in armor, swords and shields, horses and wild heartbreaking romances, but turned out as something completely different.

A film showing icelandic farmlife with elements of icelandic folklore mixed in.

Documents the band "Korter í Flog". Their way to the top and their ultimate downfall. Post-dreifing, THAT Húrra concert and so much more.

The desolate Icelandic spring awakens complicated feelings between two choir girls.

The School of Housewives is a documentary film about the self-image of the Icelandic housewife and how the role of this school has changed over the years. In the film, the past is reflected in interviews with senior students alongside old 16mm footage that show how important role the school played to expectant Icelandic housewives around the middle of the last century. At the same time, recent students are monitored showing how much change has taken place in the school, regarding the role of housewives today in terms of gender role and the basic values such as all kinds of efficiency, maintenance of clothing, protecting the environment and preventing food waste. The film is a unique contemporary documentary about the Reykjavík school of housewives, running since 1942 and still open for those students who are interested, despite the uncertainty about the future of the school and its possible imminent closure.