Iceland’s Artists and Sagas – gebrueder beetz filmproduktion

Iceland‘s Artists and Sagas

“Iceland‘s Artists and the Sagas” not only gives an insight into the creative energy of the country; following the steps of some of Iceland’s most famous artists, writers and musicians, it also explores the very nature of this creativity that drives and defines an entire country.

Year

2011

Length

52 min

Director

Helga Brekkan

Frosty glaciers and hot springs, dark winter days and bright summer nights – Iceland is a country of the extremes. Not only the nature in Iceland is astonishing: ancient sagas, crime stories, eccentric video art and enigmatic music are a testimonial for the country’s unique art scene. The small island in the Atlantic Ocean is not just a geological hotspot, but also a creative one.

In times like these, with the impacts of the global financial crisis visible everywhere in Iceland, the values of these cultural resources become evident. The bubble of fast money burst, but people still have their fantasy, their poetry and their ability to tell a good tale to hold on to. After all, it was Icelandic sagas that gave birth to the hero, the story of an individual human being, long before the first European medieval romance thought of it.

Credits

Idea and Concept
Helga Brekkan
Annette Brüggemann

Director
Helga Brekkan

Cinematography
Birgit Gudjonsdóttir bvk/IKS
Helga Brekkan

Editor
Christian R. Timmann

Sound
Tómas Hjaltason

Music
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson
Valdimar Jóhansson
Oddný Eir Ævarsdóttir

Soundmix
Jörg Höhne

Colour Correction
Natalie Maximova

Production Manager
Kathrin Isberner
Nick Pastucha
Sarah Maret

Executive Producer
Anahita Nazemi

Producer
Christian Beetz

Co-producer
Johannes Rosenberger

Commissioning Editor
Kathrin Brinkmann (ZDF/ARTE)
Beate Thalberg (ORF)
Franz Grabner (ORF)

Sales & distribution

Trailer

„Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

17.05.2018