Though the creative community of Reykjavík, Iceland, has earned a well-deserved reputation for its unique artistic output—most notably the popular music that has emerged from the city since the 1980s—Reykjavík’s filmmakers have received less attention than they merit. World Film Locations: Reykjavík corrects this imbalance, shedding new light on the role of cinema in a country that, partly because of its small population, produces more films per capita than any other in the world.

 

The contributors to this volume trace cinema in Iceland from the 1979 establishment of the Icelandic Film Fund—before which the country’s film industry barely existed—through today. In a series of illuminating scene reviews, they show how rapidly the city has changed over the past thirty years. In thematic spotlight articles, they go on to explore such topics as the relationship between Iceland and its capital city; youth culture and night life; the relationship between film and the local music community; cinematic representations of Scandinavian crime; and filmmakers’ response to the 2008 banking crisis. Together, these varied contributions show how films shot in Reykjavík have been shaped both by Iceland’s remoteness from the rest of the world and by Icelandic filmmakers’ sense that the city remains forever on the brink of desolate and harsh wilderness.

Jez Conolly, the faculty librarian for arts, social sciences, and law at the University of Bristol, is the author of Beached Margin: The Role and Representation of the Seaside Resort in British Films. Caroline Whelan is an independent writer and researcher.