The feature film Eldfjall (Volcano) by Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson premiered in Iceland at the Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) in the cinema Háskólabíó yesterday evening.
A screenshot from Volcano.
The film’s world premier was at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring and has since toured other festivals, including the Toronto Film Festival, ruv.is reports.
“We have traveled abroad a lot lately. We would have liked to have premiered it in Iceland at the same time as abroad but when spring is in the air in Iceland, no one wants to go to the cinema,” Rúnarsson said.
Volcano is his first full-length film. It feature Hannes, a 67-year-old man, who is about to retire and has to face the past while struggling with the conflicts of the present.
The film is Iceland’s submission to the Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards in Hollywood in February. Five submissions will go on to be nominated for an Oscar.
“Each country has the right to pick their stud or sheep to join the Hollywood roundup and then some sheep get picked for the ram exhibition and we are hoping to qualify for the ram exhibition again,” Rúnarsson said, referring to Iceland’s only Oscar nomination so far, Children of Nature by Fridrik Thór Fridriksson.
Click here to read more about Volcano and here to read other RIFF news. The festival will continue through this weekend.
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