Come out, come out, wherever you are, to the Reykjavík International Film Festival

Are you in Reykjavík between 17 and 27 September? Internationally inclined? Like movies? And sort of festive? Well, then the Reykjavík International Film Festival is just the thing.

In this exciting and informative segment about the Reykjavík International Film Festival, we’d like you to meet Jón Agnar Ólason, their Marketing Guy, pictured here, looking a bit like an old-time movie star. Here’s Johnny!

We: So, the “Reykjavík International Film Festival” Um, Why?

Jón Agnar: Because it is Iceland’s biggest film festival and one of the more significant cultural events in Reykjavík’s annual calendar. With around 120 titles, numerous special events and unique screenings, this year’s festival promises to be the grandest yet.

Wow, that sounds like it came directly from your brochure. Do you get to meet any famous directors or film people this year?

Is two-time Academy Award winner for Best Director Milos Forman famous enough?

Can anyone ever be famous enough? Who is the most famous person to come to Iceland for the RIFF?

Again, Milos Forman comes to mind …

Okay we get it, you really like Milos Forman. Moving on, the festival logo is a puffin. What is the deep, metaphysical meaning of that?

We could say the puffin is essentially an Icelandic icon yet with international recognition, which is how we’d like the Festival to be seen. Or we could also say it’s just a cool looking bird, really.

Any Icelandic films being shown this year?

Plenty. Six feature length films and over 20 shorts, and not all of them are gloomy Scandinavian dramas with references to Bergman!

What is your favourite Icelandic movie of all time?

That would probably be the hilarious “Með allt á hreinu” (“On Top Of Everything”) from 1982 which is the Drive-In Movie of this year’s festival. You can see it on Tuesday 22 September on the campus of the University of Iceland.

What about the short film “Mamma veit hvað hún syngur” by our very own flight attendant slash auteur Barði Guðmundsson?

You mean the film about the dominating, daughter-in-law scaring mother and her timid boy in his twenties who harbours a life-altering secret? Ready for take-off towards the bright lights, I’d say!

Do you have time to see any of the movies? Or are you just running to get coffee for Milos Forman the whole time?

We aim to balance our movie-going with mandatory coffee-fetching!

Iceland Express is an official sponsor of Reykjavík International Film Festival, taking place in various warm and cozy Reykjavík cinemas from 17 to 27 September this year. So if you’ve always dreamt of meeting Milos Forman you know what to do.