27/09/2023 - Isabelle Huppert, Vicky Krieps, Luca Guadagnino and Nicolas Philibert are among the guests of honour of this resplendent edition, taking place from 28 September-8 October

The curtain will rise tomorrow on the 20th Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF), which has big things in store to celebrate its two decades of existence. The event, headed by Hrönn Marinósdóttir (with Frédéric Boyer as artistic director) will indeed feature as guests of honour Isabelle Huppert, Vicky Krieps and Nicolas Philibert, who will deliver masterclasses, as well as Luca Guadagnino, Catherine Breillat and Luc Jacquet who will be giving Extended Talks.

The main competition, titled New Visions and dedicated to first and second features, includes Solitude [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ninna Pálmadóttir
film profile] by Icelandic director Ninna Pálmadóttir (unveiled in Toronto and set to open the festival), three films that were well-received in Cannes (Caméra d’or-winner Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell [+see also:
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film profile] by Vietnamese filmmaker Pham Thiên Ân, The Settlers [+see also:
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interview: Felipe Gálvez
film profile] by Chile’s Felipe Gálvez, and The Sweet East by American director Sean Price Williams), Slow [+see also:
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interview: Marija Kavtaradze
film profile] by Lithuania’s Marija Kavtaradze (Best Director award winner in Sundance), One Night with Adela [+see also:
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interview: Hugo Ruiz
film profile] by Spain’s Hugo Ruiz (awarded in Tribeca), Family Time [+see also:
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interview: Tia Kouvo
film profile] by Finland’s Tia Kouvo (discovered at the Berlinale) and two titles presented in competition in Locarno: The Vanishing Soldier [+see also:
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film profile] by Israeli director Dani Rosenberg and Baan [+see also:
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interview: Leonor Teles
film profile] by Portugal’s Leonor Teles. The 2023 Golden Puffin award will be given by a jury composed of Icelandic director Ísold Uggadóttir, IndieLisboa director Susana Santos Rodrigues, and this writer.

Showcased in the Open Seas section are the Venice winner Poor Things [+see also:
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interview: Suzy Bemba
Q&A: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile] by Yorgos Lanthimos (which will close the festival), Berlin award winners 20,000 Species of Bees [+see also:
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interview: Estíbaliz Urresola
film profile] by Spanish director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren and Music [+see also:
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film profile] by German filmmaker Angela Schanelec, and four Cannes titles: the awarded French candidate at the Oscars The Taste of Things [+see also:
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film profile] by Tran Anh Hung, May December by Todd Haynes, Eureka [+see also:
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interview: Lisandro Alonso
film profile] by Lisandro Alonso, and How To Have Sex [+see also:
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interview: Molly Manning Walker
film profile] by English director Molly Manning Walker (winner in Un Certain Regard). A high level menu completed by the documentary Menus plaisirs - Les Troisgros [+see also:
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film profile] by Frederick Wiseman, and Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World [+see also:
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interview: Radu Jude
film profile] by Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude (awarded in Locarno).

The A Different Tomorrow competition gathers Motherland [+see also:
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film profile] by Alexander Mihalkovich and Hanna Badziaka (winners at CPH:DOX), Here [+see also:
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interview: Bas Devos
film profile] by Belgium’s Bas Devos, Orlando, My Political Biography [+see also:
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interview: Paul B Preciado
film profile] by Spain’s Paul B. Preciado, Twice Colonized [+see also:
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interview: Lin Alluna
interview: Lin Alluna
film profile] by Danish director Lin Alluna, Youth (Spring) [+see also:
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film profile] by Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing, the American-French production Queendom [+see also:
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film profile] by Agniia Galdanova, Blue Sky White Clouds by Germany’s Astrid Menzel, Knit’s Island [+see also:
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film profile] by French directors Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse and Quentin L'helgoualc'h, and the American production Theater of Thought by Werner Herzog.

The very rich RIFF programme also features a Documentary section, an Icelandic Panorama (which includes the feature films Togolisa by Alda Lóa Leifsdóttir, The Day Iceland Stood Still by Pamela Hogan and Belonging by Sævar Guðmundsson and Kreshnik Jonuzi), the Cinema Beats programme, the Films From The North (with Let the River Flow [+see also:
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interview: Ole Giæver
film profile] by Norway’s Ole Giaever) and Midnight Thrill sections, a focus on Latvian animation, a section for international short films  and the traditional Golden Egg competition which shines a light on young filmmakers from around the world who have participated in the RIFF Talent Lab.

This year, a Focus France is on the cards, with among other titles The Beast [+see also:
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interview: Bertrand Bonello
film profile] by Bertrand Bonello, The Goldman Case [+see also:
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interview: Cédric Kahn
film profile] by Cédric Kahn, Last Summer [+see also:
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interview: Catherine Breillat
film profile] by Catherine Breillat, On the Adamant [+see also:
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interview: Nicolas Philibert
film profile] by Nicolas Philibert, Marinette [+see also:
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interview: Virginie Verrier
film profile] by Virginie Verrier, and The (Ex)perience of Love [+see also:
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interview: Ann Sirot & Raphael Balboni
film profile] by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni.

Worth pointing out too is the new section Smart7 (in collaboration with the New Horizons, IndieLisboa, Transilvania, Thessalonique, Filmadrid and Vilnius festivals) which will show Black Stone [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Greek director Spiros Jacovides, Bread and Salt [+see also:
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interview: Damian Kocur
film profile] by Poland’s Damian Kocur, Tobacco Barns [+see also:
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interview: Rocío Mesa
film profile] by Portugal’s Telmo Churro, Mammalia [+see also:
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film profile] by Romania’s Sebastian Mihailescu, Structure [+see also:
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film profile] by Iceland’s Gústav Geir Bollason, and Remember to Blink [+see also:
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interview: Austėja Urbaitė
film profile] by Lithuania’s Austèja Urbaitè.

Finally, the Industry Days will take place from 3-7 October, with the Work In Progress dedicated to Icelandic production and several talks about current topics animating the world film industry.

(Translated from French)