The program for the Reykjavík Film Festival was announced on Wednesday. The festival runs from September 29th to October 9th. Fifty movies from 26 countries will be shown at the festival; five European movies will premiere at the festival.
The independent film festival is one of the largest ever held in Iceland. The organizers for the event said that most of the films are new, and that each film would only be shown two or three times.
When television station Stöð 2 asked Hrönn Marinósdóttir, the organizer of the event, what she thought was the main attraction at the film festival, Hrönn answered that it was hard to say but one of the most interesting aspects was the attendance of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.
Kiarostami is one of the word’s foremost directors. He won the Palme d’Or in 1997 for his feature Taste of Cherry, and British newspaper The Guardian recently named him the sixth best filmmaker in the world. His old works will be shown at the festival, and there will be a European premiere of one of his short films. Kiarostami is also a photographer, and while in Reykjavík, he will open a large photo exhibition.
Hrönn says that the plan is to have discussions and seminars at each festival, there will be a Q&A session that directors and foreign guests will attend.
The film festival takes place in three movie theaters: Regboginn at Hverfisgata 54, Háskólabíó at Hagatorg and Tjarnarbíó at Tjarnargata 12.
More information available here.