Sun, Nov 24 / 5 pm
Wed, Nov 27 / 9 pm
Directed by Kristín Jóhannesdóttir
1992, Iceland / Denmark, 122 min
Icelandic with English subtitles
This stunning magic-realist fable follows a lonely young girl who shuttles back and forth between her small coastal village in 1936 Iceland and her 14th-century fantasy world, populated with the familiar faces of her real life. While in current-day she eagerly awaits a visit from the ship of (true-life) French polar explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, her fantasy narrative unspools a tale of vengeance and sorcery that explains the origin of a curse that supposedly haunts the region to this day.
Wayward Heroes: Modern Icelandic Cinema
Icelandic cinema is exploding around the world. Immediately following the triumph of black comedies like Rams at Cannes, films by directors such as Dagur Kári, Rúnar Rúnarsson, Hlynur Pálmason and Ísold Uggadóttir picked up prizes at major festivals around the world. Legendary TIFF programmer and writer Steve Gravestock is coming to Winnipeg for three days to launch a new book – History of Icelandic Film which explores the great riches of Icelandic cinema from the silent era to the present day. The sporadic production from the ‘20s to the ‘70s gave way to the “Icelandic Spring” of the ’80s, with international inroads being made in the ’90s. Magic-realist fables, bloody Viking epics, sardonic deadpan comedies, and hard-boiled Nordic noirs, a remarkable evolution from the ’80s to contemporary Iceland.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Steve Gravestock of TIFF, Consulate General of Iceland, the Icelandic Embassy, Gimli Film Festival, and Frank Zappia, Zappia Group Realty.
