Karna Sigurðardóttir – 690 Vopnafjörður #FIPA2018

PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Karna Sigurðardóttir, director of the documentary 690 Vopnafjörður.

Director Karna Sigurðardóttir presented her feature documentary debut, 690 Vopnafjörður, at the 31st International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes in Biarritz, France, where the film had its world premiere. The film is set in a small Icelandic town of Vopnafjörður – indeed, the town is the main character of the movie. Sigurðardóttir tells us about her familiarity with this kind of setting, being from a small village in East Iceland herself. Nonetheless, she also talks about the initial difficulties she encountered when she begand filming her documentary: “The traditional Icelandic way is to not say very much,” she explains. “People didn’t really come to me with their story, I really had to kind of dig for them.” Her statement implies a type of quietness or silence that is found in the overall style of 690 Vopnafjörður; this was part of Sigurðardóttir tactic in achieving a film that would give spectators the feeling of being in the village as they watched the film. The director also talks about the way in which she embarked in the journey of making this documentary, how the younger generations live in the village (“people need to leave and then make the decision to come and stay. But I found that their way of thinking very often was just that they feel good there”), and more.

690 Vopnafjörður:  In a remote Icelandic village, the 645 residents of Vopnafjörður go about their daily lives. Heated arguments about soccer or politics both divide and bind the community, which thrives on the smallest conflict. The film examines the mini-dramas of everyday events, and on the deep connection between the villagers and their fjord. In a place like this, these social ties determine whether people stay or leave, and rural flight is a constant threat. (Text from the official website of Fipa, http://www.fipa.tv/en/)