Film Archive

Paris of the North

Official Selection - Competition 2014 / París norðursins / Iceland, France, Denmark 2014

Told without emphasizing the dramatic conflict, the film relates the tale of a recovering alcoholic, his largely estranged father, and their incompatible cohabitation. The filmmakers were more interested in introducing a melancholy mood, which was generated, beyond the dialogue, by the story’s excellent cinematographic and musical components. A new offering from the director of the respected film Either Way.

Synopsis

Teacher Hugi, who resides in a village in eastern Iceland, receives an unexpected visit from his relatively young and largely estranged father. Their differing personalities – 37-year-old, recovering alcoholic Hugi is involved with the local temperance center, while his father betrays a tendency toward hedonism – become the source of multiple problems, and their ill-matched cohabitation undergoes various phases. Rather than emphasizing the drama of the plot, Sigurðsson prioritizes the creation of an emotional atmosphere for this story of gradual rapprochement. The central characters’ belated adolescence is a key factor in the process of their reunion as they discover heretofore unknown aspects of their personalities and, along with it, an understanding for one another. The dialogue here is often helpful in revealing the characters’ natures, even in the case of the supporting roles, without in any way disadvantaging the concise depiction of the environment or the musical component, which greatly contributes to the narrative’s melancholy mood.

About the film

95 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson / Screenplay Huldar Breiðfjörð / Dir. of Photography G. Magni Ágústsson / Music Prins Póló / Editor Kristján Loðmfjörð / Producer Thor Sigurjonsson, Sindri Kjartansson / Production Zik Zak Filmworks, Kjartansson / Coproduction Arizona Productions, Profile Pictures, Flickbook Films / Cast Björn Thors, Helgi Björns, Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir / Contact Pascale Ramonda

About the director

Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (b. 1978, Reykjavik) came to film through his love of skateboarding when he began shooting skate videos in Iceland at the beginning of the 1990s. After earning a Bachelor’s in comparative literature from the University of Iceland, he left for Columbia University in New York to enroll in their prestigious SoA (School of the Arts) film program. His graduation movie Rattlesnakes (Skröltormar, 2007) earned three main prizes from Columbia University’s film festival, from there making the rounds of the international festival circuit and winning further awards. His feature debut Either Way (Á annan veg, 2011) competed at San Sebastian and was presented in Variety’s Ten Euro Directors to Watch at KVIFF 2012. At present, Sigurðsson teaches screenwriting and direction at Icelandic Film School and the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.