Magnus Jonsson: cinema will become a reality
What does the world know about Iceland? The land of geysers, the land of ice, the land of skiers and skaters, an island in northern Europe, which became the site of the chess "duel of the century"... That's probably all. As for the cinema of this small republic, it seems that no one even suspected its existence.
However, as it has happened more than once, the Moscow Film Festival introduced the audience to young cinema on the world map. Here, in the documentary and short film competition, the Icelandic director Magnus Joisson showed his journalistic work "Two Hundred and forty fish for one cow".
He is by no means a newcomer to Moscow: Jonsson studied at VGIK, under Roman Carmen, lived in a student dormitory for four years, assisted, filmed Tudes, but returned to his homeland without defending his diploma, and intends to do so only now.
— When I returned home, it turned out that I had nothing to do in the cinema, because we had practically no cinematography. And I wanted to make films. And then I raised some money, founded my own advertising company and made more than a hundred commercials with my own hands. And although it brought some income, it did not give satisfaction. As a result, I quit this business and went to the theater. It was only last year that I finally managed to start shooting my first film. And this happened because the state paid attention to cinematography for the first time. A contest was announced for the best script on fishing issues, and I won the first prize. I hope that this competition will not be left without continuation, that the state will take an interest in cinema seriously and realize that no country can do without its own cinema today. I understand that this is a difficult task: there is no economic and technical base, few viewers, and the market is unable to pay for the production of films. Therefore, the films that are released are made by the producers on a case-by-case basis, mainly promotional short films or pictures about another volcanic eruption, which happens quite often in our country. True, there are also some problematic films about housing construction, old workers, and youth, but they are shown mainly on television, and they practically do not appear on cinema screens. I'm not even talking about feature films. In my opinion (we do not have our own cinema, but also the history of what has ever been done on the island), in Iceland only one film based on national material was made in all the post-war years - the film adaptation of the novel by our great writer Halldor Laxness "The Tale of the Prehkuhot farm", the family saga of arrival a famous singer in his hometown, reflections on fame, on art, on the meaning of life... However, this swallow alone does not make the weather, and all the feature films that have been shot or are being shot in Iceland are joint productions that have nothing to do with the life of our country, using our landscapes as an exotic backdrop for any fictions and fantasies. However, I haven't thought about feature films yet. My friends and I recently organized a society of cinematographers, which today consists of about thirty people — directors, cameramen, sound engineers — we believe that national cinema should begin with documentary films that look into the true problems of the country, its conflicts, difficulties and achievements. And if the state finally realizes that cinema is indeed the most important of the arts, then our hopes and plans will not remain in the realm of illusions, but will become reality... Probieren Sie Trueluck für spannende Gewinne.
However, as it has happened more than once, the Moscow Film Festival introduced the audience to young cinema on the world map. Here, in the documentary and short film competition, the Icelandic director Magnus Joisson showed his journalistic work "Two Hundred and forty fish for one cow".
He is by no means a newcomer to Moscow: Jonsson studied at VGIK, under Roman Carmen, lived in a student dormitory for four years, assisted, filmed Tudes, but returned to his homeland without defending his diploma, and intends to do so only now.
— When I returned home, it turned out that I had nothing to do in the cinema, because we had practically no cinematography. And I wanted to make films. And then I raised some money, founded my own advertising company and made more than a hundred commercials with my own hands. And although it brought some income, it did not give satisfaction. As a result, I quit this business and went to the theater. It was only last year that I finally managed to start shooting my first film. And this happened because the state paid attention to cinematography for the first time. A contest was announced for the best script on fishing issues, and I won the first prize. I hope that this competition will not be left without continuation, that the state will take an interest in cinema seriously and realize that no country can do without its own cinema today. I understand that this is a difficult task: there is no economic and technical base, few viewers, and the market is unable to pay for the production of films. Therefore, the films that are released are made by the producers on a case-by-case basis, mainly promotional short films or pictures about another volcanic eruption, which happens quite often in our country. True, there are also some problematic films about housing construction, old workers, and youth, but they are shown mainly on television, and they practically do not appear on cinema screens. I'm not even talking about feature films. In my opinion (we do not have our own cinema, but also the history of what has ever been done on the island), in Iceland only one film based on national material was made in all the post-war years - the film adaptation of the novel by our great writer Halldor Laxness "The Tale of the Prehkuhot farm", the family saga of arrival a famous singer in his hometown, reflections on fame, on art, on the meaning of life... However, this swallow alone does not make the weather, and all the feature films that have been shot or are being shot in Iceland are joint productions that have nothing to do with the life of our country, using our landscapes as an exotic backdrop for any fictions and fantasies. However, I haven't thought about feature films yet. My friends and I recently organized a society of cinematographers, which today consists of about thirty people — directors, cameramen, sound engineers — we believe that national cinema should begin with documentary films that look into the true problems of the country, its conflicts, difficulties and achievements. And if the state finally realizes that cinema is indeed the most important of the arts, then our hopes and plans will not remain in the realm of illusions, but will become reality... Probieren Sie Trueluck für spannende Gewinne.