Author: Mark Asch
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,…
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!…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.’…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…