FRIDRIK THOR FRIDRIKSSON He was born in Iceland, in 1954. Almost totally self-educated in cinematography, he started making 16mm films while still in high school. He ran the University's film club, founded Iceland's first film magazine and helped set up the Reykjavik Film Festival, which he chairs at present. Fridriksson directed non-conventional documentaries, such as Rock in Reykjavik ('82) and Icelandic Cowboys ('84), before his first feature, White Whales ('87). He then directed several films for Icelandic television before making Children of Nature ('91), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992, apart from receiving no less than twenty-three other international prizes. Movie Days ('94) followed up on the success of Children of Nature with a wider cinema release abroad. It was awarded the «Nordic Amanda» prize as the best Scandinavian film of 1994. Cold Fever ('95), his most international production, has earned a world-wide distribution and been enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. Fridriksson's Icelandic Film Company has been involved in almost every Icelandic film made in recent years, as well as co-producing several international productions. FILMOGRAPHY English titles) 1978 The Blacksmith (documentary) 1982 Rock in Reykjavik (documentary) 1984 Icelandic Cowboys (documentary) 1987 White Whales 1991 Children of Nature 1994 Movie Days 1995 Cold Fever 1996 Devil's Island A koldum klaka COLD FEVER Atsushi Hirata, a young employee in a Tokyo fish company, is forced to give up his vacation in Hawaii, to perform a memorial service for his parents. The ceremony can only be held at the place where they died: a river in a remote corner of Iceland. Consequently, this urbane young man will have to endure bizarre adventures in this «very strange country», in order to realize his musical quest. «It was inspired by a news report I saw on Icelandic TV», Fridriksson recalls. «Some Japanese scientists doing research in a remote corner of Iceland drowned when their jeep overturned in a river, Incredibly, years later, the families of the victims arrived from Japan, travelled across Iceland and perform a simple, but very touching, ceremony by the river… This is the only way to guarantee that the spirits of the dead will be at peace». Direction: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson. / Screenplay: Jim Stark, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson. / Cinematography: Ari Kristinsson. / Editing: Steingrimur Karlsson. / Sound: Kjartan Kjartansson. / Music: Hilmar Hilmarsson. / Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens, Gísli Halldorsson. / Producer: Jim Stark. / Production: Icicle Films Inc., 366 Broadway 2a, New York, NY 10013, USA, tel./fax: 212 964 75 21, Icelandic Film Corporation, Hverfisgata 46, 121 Reykjavik, Iceland, tel.: 354 551 2260, fax: 354 552 5154. / World Sales: Christa Saredi, Ottilienstarsse 19, 8003 Zurich, Switzerland, tel.: 41 1 463 7020, fax: 41 1 463 7180. 35mm / Colour 85' Djoflaeyjan DEVIL'S ISLAND Devil's Island is a bittersweet tale of Iceland in the fifties. Life is rough in Reykjavik's post-war slum of Camp Thule, where the abandoned US military barracks have been turned into makeshift homes. Struggling wives and their hard-working husbands try to make ends meet. The younger generations dream of dollars, rock 'n' roll and the American Way of life. To celebrate or to drown their misery, they're never short of a good reason to booze. The film vividly depicts the everyday life of a whacky family, their neighbours and friends, and shows how some of their dreams come true and others don't. Old Karolina, an eccentric fortune-teller and Thomas, her kind-hearted husband, stay in the camp with their grown-up grandchildren when their daughter Gogo and her son Baddi go off in search of a better life in the USA. Often hopeful, sometimes miserable, but always high in spirits, the people of «Devil's Island» live their lives to the full. Direction: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson. / Screenplay: Einar K'arason. / Cinematography: Ari Kristinsson. / Editing: Steingrimur Karlsson, Skule Eriksen. / Sound: Kjartan Kjartansson. / Music: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. / Costumes: Karl Aspelund. / Cast: Baltasar Kormakur, Gísli Hallóssrson, Sigurveig Jnsdttir. / Producer: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Peter Rommel, Egil Ödegaard, Peter Aalbaek Jensen. / Production: Icelandic Film Corporation, Reykjavik; Peter Rommel Filmproduction, Berlin; Filmhuset, Oslo; Zentropa Entertainements, Copenhagen. / World Sales: Christa Saredi, Staffelstrasse 8, CH-8045, Zürich, Switzerland, tel.: 41 1 201 1151, fax: 41 1 201 1152. 35mm / Colour 103' Born natturunnar CHILDREN OF NATURE An old man who lives by himself in the countryside, decides to give up farming and move to the city. However, once there, he has a difficult time settling in and eventually ends up in an old folks' home. He meets an old flame of his who dreams of being buried on the farm where she grew up, which has now been deserted for years. One night they flee together in search of adventure. Children of Nature received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film for 1992, and was also awarded the Félix European Film Prize in 1991 for best original musical score. It received Public and Critics' prizes at film festivals all over the world. Direction: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson. / Screenplay: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Einar Mar Gudmundsson. / Cinematography: Ari Kristinsson. / Sound: Kjartan Kjartansson. / Music: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. / Cast: Gísli HalldÛrson, Sigrídur Hagalín, Bruno Ganz. / Producer: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson. / Production: Icelandic Film Corporation, Reykjavik; Max Film, Berlin; Metro Film, Oslo. / World Sales: Icelandic Film Corporation, Hverfisgata 46, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland, tel.: 354 551 2260, fax: 354 552 5154. 35mm / Colour 85'