Loreen & Olafur Arnalds join forces in SAGES

Reykjavik International film festival 2024(Opening film)

An audiovisual journey through the world of Bríets and Birnirs album, 1000 words. 

Synopsis:

In the blink of a night : from the national theater to RÚV

Synopsis: 
It's a beautiful evening in the summer cottage. The grill is heating up when Björk introduces her new boyfriend to her older sister Ragnhildur and her husband. The sisters were raised in a broken home, but their lives have taken different paths. Ragnhildur has recently been voted into parliament and is married to the former soccer player Magnús, now a successful entrepreneur. Björk is on the cusp of making it as a star with her punk band and has recently met Óskar, who looks like a nice guy. Surely this must turn out to be a fantastic evening...

A young Icelandic playwright steps forth with a ruthless reflection on current affairs, a riveting piece straight from Scandinavian reality. A tragicomic play about investors, footballers, politicians, artists and social workers: on the surface, the different generations argue about the meaning of life and what it is to be successful, happy or a valued member of society – but underneath, secrets are uncovered, lives splintered, and beliefs shattered.

In the blink of a night

A star is born: The magical Laufey on location

Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir born April 23, 1999), known by the mononym Laufey, is an Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter. She achieved notability in the early 2020s, and describes her musical style, a mixture of jazz pop and bedroom pop, as "modern jazz".

Having performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15, Laufey was a finalist in Ísland Got Talent (2014) and semi-finalist on The Voice Iceland (2015). In 2021, she released her debut EP Typical of Me and graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, United States. Her debut album, Everything I Know About Love, was released in 2022 and charted in Iceland and the US. It was followed by her second studio album, Bewitched, which was released in 2023 to critical acclaim; the single "From the Start" found moderate success in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Laufey has cited Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker and Taylor Swift as sources of influence.

Laufey - Fragile

Business owners in Iceland tell their stories

Óbyggðarsetrið

Kokka

Hella

Geosilica

Narfi

Samtök Atvinnulífsins

NOWNESS premieres Dustin O'Hallorans new music video

The music video for Dustin O'Halloran's "Spiritus Naturae Aeternus," featuring the evocative dance and choreography of Fukiko Takase, serves as a poignant allegory for the cycle of life. The long, uninterrupted scenes uphold the dance's integrity and allow the choreography to connect with the haunting melodies, the requiem-like cadence, and the profound themes of O'Halloran's composition. The contrast between Iceland's natural beauty and the desolate urban settings provides a transformative journey from organic to artificial environments. Within a bleak world, Takase's dance becomes an expression of the enduring process of growth, renewal, and eventual decay - Markus Englmair

Dustin O'Halloran - Spiritus Naturae Aeternus

sensor.tv - hafnartorg

Edda Awards 2024 - Best Short
Edda Awards 2024 - Best Youth film
Stockfish 2023 - Best short

synopsis:

The 11 year old Breki is at constant odds with his older sister Bergdís, but all he wants is her validation. One day when she is out, Breki sneaks into her closet and makeup, leaving the room a mess. When the family returns to the scene, a series of events unfold leading to a long overdue confrontation between the siblings.

Felt Cute (short film)

A music video for a former twitter employee? 

The second single by Önnu Jónu Son from the upcoming album The Radio Won’t Let Me Sleep coming out in 2024.  ---  Önnu Jónu Son is the stage name of Haraldur Thorleifsson. Haraldur was active in the Icelandic music scene in the late 90s but took an extended hiatus from music to focus on his alcoholism, followed by a career as a designer, ultimately selling his design agency Ueno to Twitter in 2021.  The name Önnu Jónu Son is a reference to his mother, who he lost when he was eleven years old. Haraldur has struggled with finding a path forward and finding confidence in himself as an artist and a performer. By wearing his mothers name he was able to user her memory, love, support and nurture as protection from any self doubt or fear of external criticism.

Önnu Jónu Son - Big Boy Boots

Scenes from Afar: Live concert in Harpa for Deutche Grammophone

ABOUT:

Deutsche Grammophon proudly presents From Afar, a personal love letter to life and music by one of the most critically acclaimed classical artists of our time, Víkingur Ólafsson. In his most ambitious album to date, Ólafsson delivers a new album full of beautiful arrangements with the repertoire mirrored on both grand piano & upright piano. “Throughout the album, there are intimate conversations and messages from afar – closely knit canons, transcriptions and dedications, as well as distant echoes of nearly forgotten, ancient melodies.” – Ólafsson. In an innovative move, he has made not one but two recordings of the same repertoire – ranging from Bach to Adès, as well as works by Kurtág himself. Version one was made on a Steinway concert grand, version two on an upright piano. Listeners will be able to compare and contrast these two equally colourful and atmospheric soundworlds when the double album is released in all formats by Deutsche Grammophon on 7 October 2022.

Vikingur - From Afar

A moment of silence for those who have not discovered this absolute belter

ABOUT:
German DJ, producer and label owner HOSH teams up with Italian newcomer 1979 on his new single ‘Midnight (The Hanging Tree)’ Feat Jalja, which sees its commercial release on Friday 10th January via Ministry of Sound. A scintillating slice of melodic house, with vocals by London based singer Jalja, ‘Midnight (The Hanging Tree)’ feat. Jalja sees HOSH and 1979 craft a sparse, emotive soundscape that lingers long in the memory. The stunning official video sees Tim Burton-reminiscent animation that acts as a perfect visual representation of the track’s eerie yet emotive vibe. “This track happened like a magic call,” HOSH explains. “When 1979 sent me an instrumental it made a click and in my head I heard the hanging tree vocal on top of it. It turned out it was a perfect match, so I took it from there, made my adjustments and re-recorded the vocal with the talented Jalja.”

Hosh & 1979 - Midnight (The hanging tree) feat. Jalja

Head-on collision on a remote road in Iceland

Winner of the Vimeo Staff Pick Award at the 2019 Aspen Shortsfest.

44th Odense International film festival 2019 
5th Plymouth Rebel Film Festival 2019 
9th KO:SH FILM FEST 2019 
16th Indy Film Fest 2019 
22nd Brussels Short Film Festival 2019 
7th Speechless Film Festival 2019 
28th Aspen Shortsfest 2019 
20th Landshuter Kurzfilmtage 2019 
21st Mecal Barcelona 2019 
35th European Film Festival of Lille 2019 
31st Minimalen Short Film Festival 2018 
20th Fargo Film Festival 2019
31st Foyle Film Festival 2018 

SYNOPSIS:

Vala and Benni are leaving Reykjavik to start a new chapter in their lives. While driving through the remote, snow-covered fjords, another car slams into them head-on, sending them tumbling off of the road. After fighting her way out of their overturned car, Vala discovers that Benni has not survived the accident. Her grief is cut short when the driver of the other vehicle begins to call for help, leading to a confrontation of dire consequence.

Kanarí (short film)

Why we brought this piano to a deserted island?

ABOUT: 

Celebrated for his innovative programming and award-winning recordings, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is offering a window into his musical life story with his new album, From Afar. The highly personal double album reflects Ólafsson’s musical DNA, from childhood memories growing up in Iceland to his international career and contemporary inspirations. 

Recorded on both upright and grand pianos, the album captures two distinct sound worlds with works by Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Brahms and Bartók, alongside Icelandic and Hungarian folk songs, a world premiere by Thomas Adès, transcriptions by Ólafsson himself, and interconnecting pieces composed by his hero, 96 year-old Hungarian composer and pianist György Kurtág. Exploring such evocative themes as home, childhood and family, the album features Hungarian and Icelandic folk songs, nature-inspired works, interwoven homages and three previously unreleased transcriptions by Ólafsson.

Recent work

Loreen x Olafur Arnalds

Bríet x Birnir - 1000 words

Laufey - Fragile

Hafnartorg

Scenes from Afar

Ave maria

Blue Lagoon x Iceland Airwaves

Birnir - LXS

Unicef - Make Space

Samtök Atvinnulífsins

Felt cute

hosh

Iceland airwaves

The road to a million

In the blink of a night

Dustin O'Halloran - Spiritus Naturae Aeternus

Big Boy Boots

Kanarí

Pósturinn