Thu, Nov 28 / 7 pm
Sun, Dec 1 / 5 pm
Directed by Grímur Hákonarson
2015, Iceland 93 min
Icelandic with English subtitles
Masterfully balancing deadpan comedy and heart-wrenching pathos, this festival-circuit hit focuses on two sheep-farming brothers — boastful, hard-living Kiddi and stern, solitary Gummi — who haven’t spoken to each other for 40 years, despite the fact they live and work on adjoining farms. When Gummi spots a dead sheep in his brother’s field and then finds symptoms in his rivals’ flock that point to the lethal disease scrapie, the furious Kiddi thinks his jealous brother is trying to cause trouble for him.
An award winner at Cannes, “Rams” won in eleven of its thirteen nominated categories at Iceland’s Edda Awards, including Best Film, Director, Actor, and Screenplay.
Wayward Heroes: Modern Icelandic Cinema
Icelandic cinema is exploding around the world. Rams, a drama set in a remote rural area of Iceland and directed by Grímur Hákonarson, won the top prize in the Cannes festival’s prestigious Un Certain Regard section. Immediately following the triumph of 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.
