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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ninna Pálmadóttir
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Vietnamese filmmaker Pham Thiên Ân, The Settlers [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Felipe Gálvez
scheda film] by Chile’s Felipe Gálvez, and The Sweet East by American director Sean Price Williams), Slow [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Marija Kavtaradze
scheda film] by Lithuania’s Marija Kavtaradze (Best Director award winner in Sundance), One Night with Adela [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hugo Ruiz
scheda film] by Spain’s Hugo Ruiz (awarded in Tribeca), Family Time [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tia Kouvo
scheda film] by Finland’s Tia Kouvo (discovered at the Berlinale) and two titles presented in competition in Locarno: The Vanishing Soldier [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Israeli director Dani Rosenberg and Baan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Leonor Teles
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Suzy Bemba
Q&A: Yorgos Lanthimos
scheda film] by Yorgos Lanthimos (which will close the festival), Berlin award winners 20,000 Species of Bees [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Estíbaliz Urresola
scheda film] by Spanish director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren and Music [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by German filmmaker Angela Schanelec, and four Cannes titles: the awarded French candidate at the Oscars The Taste of Things [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Tran Anh Hung, May December by Todd Haynes, Eureka [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lisandro Alonso
scheda film] by Lisandro Alonso, and How To Have Sex [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Molly Manning Walker
scheda film] by English director Molly Manning Walker (winner in Un Certain Regard). A high level menu completed by the documentary Menus plaisirs - Les Troisgros [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Frederick Wiseman, and Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Radu Jude
scheda film] by Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude (awarded in Locarno).

The A Different Tomorrow competition gathers Motherland [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Alexander Mihalkovich and Hanna Badziaka (winners at CPH:DOX), Here [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bas Devos
scheda film] by Belgium’s Bas Devos, Orlando, My Political Biography [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paul B. Preciado
scheda film] by Spain’s Paul B. Preciado, Twice Colonized [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lin Alluna
intervista: Lin Alluna
scheda film] by Danish director Lin Alluna, Youth (Spring) [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing, the American-French production Queendom [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Agniia Galdanova, Blue Sky White Clouds by Germany’s Astrid Menzel, Knit’s Island [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ole Giæver
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bertrand Bonello
scheda film] by Bertrand Bonello, The Goldman Case [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cédric Kahn
scheda film] by Cédric Kahn, Last Summer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Catherine Breillat
scheda film] by Catherine Breillat, On the Adamant [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nicolas Philibert
scheda film] by Nicolas Philibert, Marinette [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Virginie Verrier
scheda film] by Virginie Verrier, and The (Ex)perience of Love [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ann Sirot e Raphael Balboni
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Greek director Spiros Jacovides, Bread and Salt [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Damian Kocur
scheda film] by Poland’s Damian Kocur, Tobacco Barns [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rocío Mesa
scheda film] by Portugal’s Telmo Churro, Mammalia [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Romania’s Sebastian Mihailescu, Structure [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Iceland’s Gústav Geir Bollason, and Remember to Blink [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Austėja Urbaitė
scheda film] 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.