Calendar – Past Event

This retrospective presents a selection of the best feature-length and short films produced in Iceland over the past 30 years.

Icelandic cinema came into its own with the founding of the Icelandic Film Fund, now the Icelandic Film Centre, in 1979. The creation of the film fund had an immediate impact and led to new national productions. Scandinavia House is celebrating the Fund's 30th anniversary with a comprehensive 10-film retrospective paired with a selection of Icelandic short films. Spanning many styles and genres, these films reflect the excellence and diversity of Icelandic film.

Filmmaking reflects the role generally played by art - to mirror socio-cultural evolution and serve as a platform where questions are asked and experiments made. In Iceland, the opposition between myths and modernity, and between traditions and globalization is a frequent theme in film of all categories: documentaries, literature and Saga adaptations, feature films, experimental films and short films. Icelandic films have been presented at major film festivals around the world for years, regularly garnering high praise and winning top international prizes.

Children/Börn
Wednesday, October 28, 6:30 pm & Saturday, October 31, 3 pm

Directed by Ragnar Bragason (2006). This compelling look at a group of dysfunctional people in Reykjavík examines the lives of people close to the bottom of the social ladder and their desperate attempts at survival. Shot in beautifully stylized black and white that compliments the film's dark atmosphere, Children's finely-rounded characters include a mother alone with her four children, an underworld thug trying to re-connect with his son, and a single mother caring for her schizophrenic son. Like its follow-up Parents/Foreldrar (2007), Children has many small intertwined stories in which all are bound together in a narrative where unexpected twists and turns lead to a totally satisfying denouement. 93 min.

Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America
58 Park Avenue (between 37th and 38th Streets)
New York, NY 10016

Public Information:
Tel: (212) 879-9779 or www.scandinaviahouse.org