Halló! Kvikmyndapod is a film discussion podcast that journeys through the cinema of 21st century Iceland celebrating the unique films made in Iceland and the film-makers behind them. Each week Rob (a big fan of Iceland) and Ellie (a relative newbie to all things Iceland) tackle a single movie and chat about it. From comedies to documentaries to horror films, the podcast looks at what makes them specifically Icelandic as well as how they fit into the wider world of film. Get in touch: kvikmyndapod@gmail.com
Episodes
Monday Feb 27, 2023
My Year of Dicks (2022) and Interview with Director Sara Gunnarsdóttir
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Halló!
The second episode of series 5 takes Rob and Ellie to 90s America for a 25-minute, Oscar-nominated coming-of-age animation called 'My Year of Dicks'!
Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir and written by American screenwriter and actress Pamela Ribon, the short film is split into five chapters, each one about young Pam's encounters with the boy's she hopes will fall in love with her and take her virginity.
Available to watch now at www.myyearofdicks.com, this a hilarious, heartfelt, super cringe and brilliantly animated exploration of what sex means to a teenage girl.
This exciting episode is split in two; the first half is a fun conversation with Sara herself (the first Icelandic female director to be nominated for an Oscar!), while in the second half Rob and Ellie discuss the film in detail.
Oh, and the brilliant end music is I Want it All by the brilliant Mr. Silla.
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and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
and Instagram kvikmyndapod
And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Beautiful Beings (2022) aka Berdreymi
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Halló!
It's series 5! And to kick things off for their fifth journey through the cinema of Iceland, Rob and Ellie are keeping things current with Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson's 'Beautiful Beings', or 'Berdreymi' from 2022!
Available to watch on demand from today, Guðmundsson's second feature film focuses on teenage boys once again, except this time in the city. Set in the Reykjavik suburbs, this film focuses on a group of boys and the violence that surrounds them as Addi, Konni and Siggi befriend the bullied Balli and the four of them navigate the brutal world of noughties teenagedom.
Starring a group of fantastic newcomers, as with 'Heartstone', as well as some stalwarts in Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Anita Briem, this is a beautiful but brutal coming-of-age drama with a surprising supernatural element.
'Beautiful Beings' is not for the faint-of-heart, but is richly rewarding should you choose to press play; wonderful performances, stunning cinematography and an interesting look under the surface of suburbia.
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
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Get in touch via email kvikmyndapod@gmail.com
And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Christmas! aka Jól!
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Halló!
And gleðileg jól!
As a little Christmas gift, Rob and Ellie reconvened for a short chat about Christmas, Christmas films, Icelandic films and Icelandic Christmas.
This episode is mostly a general chat, however part of the discussion does revolve around a small scene from Grímur Hákonarson's 'Rams' or 'Hrútar' from 2015 - the very first film covered on the podcast. The scene timecode is 45:30 - 52:27 and the film is available on DVD and Blu-ray, as well to rent or buy on Apple TV, BFI Player and Chili. Or you can stream it for free at MUBI, where you can get 30 days free trial if you follow this link: www.mubi.com/kvikmyndapod
Merry Christmas and Rob and Ellie will be back in the New Year.
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
and Instagram kvikmyndapod
And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Life In A Fishbowl (2014) aka Vonarstræti
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Halló!
And so another journey through the cinema of Iceland ends. For this final episode of series four, Rob and Ellie discuss the multi-narrative drama 'Life in a Fishbowl' from 2014.
Baldvin Z's second feature follows the lives of three Icelanders living in Reykjavik and the ways in which they influence each other, for better or worse. One is a single mother and occasional sex worker, one is an alcoholic writer, and the other is a footballer-turned-financial businessman.
Starring Þorsteinn Bachmann, Hera Hilmar and Thor Kristjansson, this is a look at the real Reykjavik, the side that tourists don't often see. At times hard-hitting and tough to watch, at others beautiful and heartwarming, it's no wonder this was the Number 1 film in Iceland the year it was released.
Rob and Ellie will return for a pre-Christmas special but in the meantime join us on social media and keep your eyes on your podcast feeds!
Thanks to all our listeners, new and old, and to everyone involved in the films we've covered!
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
and Instagram kvikmyndapod
And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Gnarr (2010)
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Halló!
This week, Rob and Ellie return to Reykjavik and to the documentary format for Gaukur Úlfarsson's 'Gnarr', a film in which famous Icelandic comedian Jón Gnarr sets up a satirical political party and runs for Mayor of Reykjavík!
Over the course of four months Gnarr transforms from joke candidate to favourite, and his outlook and intentions change too...
The film can be found at dafilms.com.
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
and Instagram kvikmyndapod
And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Halló!
In this week's minisode Rob and Ellie journey, via Denmark, to the south east of Iceland, by way of the BFI London Film Festival!
In a non-spoiler discussion, they chat about the one Icelandic movie that was shown as part of the festival in 2022. One of only eight films in Official Competition!
GODLAND
Directed by Hlynur Pálmason
Written by Hlynur Pálmason
Starring Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Vic Carmen Sonne, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir and Jacob Lohmann
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Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Oct 28, 2022
B-Movie Horror Mash-Up feat. Thirst (2019) aka Þorsti and It Hatched (2021)
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Halló!
And Happy Halloween!
To celebrate spooky season, Rob and Ellie bring together two recent Icelandic B-Movie horror-comedies.
First up is Elvar Gunnarsson’s trippy 'It Hatched' in which a baby is born from an egg laid by a human woman in a guesthouse in a remote fjord. If that doesn't sounds bonkers, then the rest of the film will do the convincing!
This is followed by comedy troupe Leikhópurinn X's 'Thirst’ or Þorsti from 2019, a film about a 1,000 year-old gay vampire and his unlikely friendship with a recovering drug user. It features buckets of blood and the most gore of any Icelandic film covered on the pod so far; probably of any Icelandic movie in fact!
So grab some beers and popcorn, get together with some mates, and settle in for a riotous B-movie double bill and then hear what Rob and Ellie have to say about these unique horror movies!
And keep your eyes peeled for Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir!
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And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Oct 21, 2022
The County (2019) aka Héraðið
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Halló!
Week two finds Rob and Ellie heading a third of the way round the country, from the south towards the Westfjords, for 'Rams' director Grímur Hákonarson's second feature film 'The County'.
Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir plays Inga, one half of a farming couple left to fight a local farming co-op for their bullying and shady keep-it-in-the-community tactics.
With true life story elements, calm and incredibly composed cinematography from Mart Taniel, and a complex central performance from Egilsdóttir, this is not just a rehash of elements seen before on the pod, but a fascinating look at how small communities may deal with the changing face of farming and commerce in Iceland.
Also starring Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann and Hannes Óli Ágústsson.
Music by Valgeir Sigurðsson
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
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And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Oct 14, 2022
The Deep (2012) aka Djupið
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Halló!
Rob and Ellie reconvene for a fourth go around the cinema of Iceland!
This week it's a return to the work of Baltasar Kormákur and his 2012 drama, based on real-life events, The Deep.
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson plays Gulli, a fisherman living on the island of Heimaey in the south of Iceland, whose boat capsizes. What happens next is a remarkable story of survival.
With some absolutely beautiful cinematography and great performances from the likes of Björn Thors, Jóhann G. Jóhannsson and Thora Bjorg Helga, this is an intriguing disaster drama.
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
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And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)
Friday Aug 26, 2022
NEST (2022) and Interview with Director Hlynur Pálmason
Friday Aug 26, 2022
Friday Aug 26, 2022
Halló!
Rob and Ellie return with a special episode all about something brand new and available to watch in the UK right now!
Director of 'A White, White Day', Hlynur Pálmason recently gave us a new short film titled 'NEST' (available on MUBI) about the building of a treehouse over the course of 18 months, and the daily interactions that his kids have with it.
For a 22-minute film this packs in all the emotion and is absolutely stunning to look at.
The first half of the podcast is a fascinating conversation with Hlynur himself, while in the second half Rob and Ellie discuss the film in detail.
If you haven't already, you can get a free 30-day trial of MUBI at www.mubi.com/kvikmyndapod.
The next series of the podcast will arrive later this year, so keep your eyes peeled!
Please subscribe/follow, rate and review on Spotify and Apple
and
Follow us on Twitter @KVIKMYNDAPOD
and Instagram kvikmyndapod
And if you fancy supporting us, why not sling us the cost of a coffee!
Artwork designed by Sophie Watts (justahappyspace)
Music by Branches Bare
('Half-light' from the EP 'In the Origami Folds of the Night You Rip the Seam of Sleep Wide Open)