Review and photos by Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.

The traveling exhibition ICELAND::FILM has hit the home country’s shores and is currently on display at The Culture House. It is meant to shed an artistic light on Icelandic film history, presenting the origins of filmmaking in Iceland at the dawn of the 20th century up until last year.

The exhibition consists of an oversized film roll mounted on the loft of The Culture House, encircling the exhibition space, displaying screenshots from Icelandic films in a rough chronological order. Screens showing samples from a selection of films along with a headset and written descriptions can be found along the way.

Additionally, four “islands” in loud colors are spread across the floor, each representing different genres: feature films, documentary, short films and adaptations of literature. At these islands visitors can select to watch approximately 100 films with subtitles in full length.

It makes you wonder whether it’s acceptable to bring a bean bag for more comfortable seating and popcorn and reserve one of the islands for a lazy afternoon. The atmosphere in the loft is certainly inviting, with charming wooden flooring, columns and slanting roof beams.

ICELAND::FILM is interesting for its historical elements and is a must-see for anyone who is keen on learning more about Icelandic film history. It also teaches visitors a lot about Icelandic cultural history and the development of the society.

I found it particularly interesting to learn about and watch clips from the first Icelandic feature film, the silent movie Saga Borgaraettarinnar (Sons of the Soil) from 1921, based on the eponymous novel by Gunnar Gunnarsson, one of Iceland’s most respected authors.

However, as an art exhibition ICELAND::FILM could use some more artistic elements. Although it may be intentional, it seems a bit raw.

Apart from the film roll, which was a brilliant idea, I would have liked to see larger images from the more famous scenes displayed in an artistic manner, perhaps as a slideshow projected on the white wall at the entrance that is reserved for text or a video of scenes cut cleverly together.

Nonetheless, ICELAND::FILM is worth a visit as is rest of The Culture House in its own right. This beautiful white palace-like structure, which was built in 1908-1908, is a delightful treat for people in downtown Reykjavík.

Inside, two permanent exhibitions demand attention: A cleverly-designed display of Iceland’s medieval manuscripts with multimedia elements and an exhibition of taxidermied animals, where, in between exotic animals like tigers and zebra, a stuffed great auk can be found. The Culture House holds a rare example of this poor, clumsy bird, which once inhabited Iceland but was hunted to extinction.

The Culture House is located on Hverfisgata 15 and is open daily between 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free on Wednesdays, but otherwise visitors are asked to pay the very modest entrance fee of ISK 300 (USD 2.44, EUR 1.82). The ICELAND::FILM exhibition runs through January 10, 2010.

ESA – eyglo@icelandreview.com