Screaming Masterpiece

Colour, 35 mm
Iceland, 2005, 87 min
IP – International premiere
Section: 2005: A Musical Odyssey

Synopsis

A vital, multi-stratified portrait of the current music scene in Iceland. The success of Björk and the band Sigur Rós flings the doors wide open for director Magnússon to create a story about how a small nation, which has held on tight to its roots, has managed to produce pop on a global scale. It tells of many other talents as well, each treating the melodies and natural energy typical for Iceland in their own way (the groups Múm and Slowblow, composer Johann Johannson, digital-age songwriter Mugison). The film also speaks of the strength of music and describes this unusual island, whose nation has thus far seen only sixty years of independence. Consequently, these new bands evoke youthfulness too. “So what you have is screaming patriotism with heavy doses of adolescence,” says Björk. “When my generation came along, we started to ask ourselves what it meant to be Icelandic, and how to be proud of it, instead of feeling guilty all the time.”

About the director

Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon is an internationally acclaimed artist with Icelandic and Yakutian ancestry. As a filmmaker he has worked with director Fridrik Thór Fridriksson, and directed films about his films - Angels of the Universe and Falcons, and a movie about the group Sigur Rós. His debut Screaming Masterpiece was screened this year at the festivals in Göteborg, Berlin and Cannes.