Author: Mark Asch
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HE CAME FROM WITHIN: RIFF’S Guest Of Honour David Cronenberg
by Mark Asch
The Reykjavík International Film Festival may not unveil the season’s most anticipated premieres, or unfurl its longest, plushest red carpet,…
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Five Takes On The Reykjavík International Film Festival, RIFF
by Ásgeir H Ingólfsson and Mark Asch
Two of our film guys watched some notable titles at the ongoing Reykjavík International Film Festival, RIFF, for your sake!…
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RIFF’S Opening Fairy Tale: Bringing Reykjavík Up To Speed
by Mark Asch
Almost exactly fifteen minutes into the 2015 Reykjavík International Film Festival, Salma Hayek will eat a sea monster’s heart. The…
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Albatross: New Look, Same Great Taste
by Mark Asch
Snævar Sölvason’s independent film ‘Albatross’ sits squarely within what’s sometimes jokingly referred to as Iceland’s signature cinematic genre: ninety minutes…
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Film Review: Grímur Hákonarsson’s ‘Rams’
by Mark Asch
In the lobby at Háskólabíó at present, among posters and standees for upcoming CGI disaster epics and comedy sequels, is…
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RIFF 2014: Critic’s Picks
by Mark Asch
Five selections from across the RIFF programme ‘Art and Craft’ dirs. Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker Mark Landis,…
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Meet The Directors!
by Mark Asch
Reykjavík International Film Festival, September 25-October 5The Reykjavík International Film Festival (en.riff.is) runs through October 5, at Bíó Paradís, Háskólabíó,…
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The American Indie Filmmaker’s Guide to Iceland
by Mark Asch
The Reykjavík International Film Festival’s Opening Night feature, ‘Land Ho!’, is a charming, fascinating tourist’s-eye-viewThe old man is describing how…
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Who is Alice Olivia Clarke?
by Mark Asch
Aside from the leads, most of the actors in ‘Land Ho!’ are either Icelanders in service jobs, or people associated…
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The Wolf Of Borgartún
by Mark Asch
Jordan Belfort Teaches A Room Full Of Icelanders How To Sell“Fuck the bankers who stole my money.” “Fuck the bankers…
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Could Iceland Qualify For The World Cup?
by Mark Asch
The rational answer to this article’s titular question is, “Probably not, no.” But rational probability has long since ceased to…
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Documenting The Downfall
by Mark Asch
In making ‘TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay—Away from Keyboard,’ Simon Klose spent several years following Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid…
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Critic’s Pick
by Mark Asch
Future My Love (Dir. Maja Borg) Anglo-Swedish experimental filmmaker Borg is first seen hitchhiking with a sign that says, ‘VENUS.’…
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RIFF Is Back For The Tenth Time!
by Mark Asch
The tenth annual festival, which opened on September 26 and continues through to October 6, is comprised of 75 features…
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A New Icelandic Dream
by Mark Asch
There are a couple of reasons why a film about Anglo expatriates in Beijing is a perfect choice for the…
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Save The (Movie) Date
by Mark Asch
The tenth annual Reykjavík International Film Festival runs from September 26 to October 6. Check riff.is for a full programme,…
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The Perfect Landscape
by Mark Asch
Art is a contested space in ‘The Perfect Landscape.’ Public sculptures are graffitied over, a bucket of red paint is…
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The Passage Of Time
by Mark Asch
Sequences Real Time Art FestivalIn a conversation published in this paper in late 2012, curator Markús fiór Andrésson spoke up…
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If You Screen It…
by Mark Asch
Iceland, as you may have gathered, is a small island nation in the middle of the North Atlantic, a fact…
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Surrendering To Time
by Mark Asch
“The Power of Passage” at the Reykjavík Art MuseumUnfurled at majestic full length across the middle of the gallery, stained…
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Pick Five
by Mark Asch
RIFF Capsule Reviews1. ¡Vivan las antipodas! (Dir. Victor Kossakovsky, Germany) Victor Kossakovsky, acting as his own cameraman and editor, has…
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Lions And Bears And Puffins, Oh My
by Mark Asch
Ah, autumn in Reykjavík when, as Reykjavík International Film Festival Chair Hrönn Marinósdóttir observes, “it starts to rain, the leaves…