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Welcome To Gimli
Welcome to Gimli, where the Icelandic flag is as proudly raised at sunrise on the lawns of modest family homes as it is tattooed on the limbs of young men; where fishermen flex their muscles hoisting hearty whitefish from the expansive lake;…
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Grand Old Aunt Björk
ON THAT WHOLE MAGMA ENERGY/ HS ORKA THING -What, in your view, is the Magma deal all about? It is a very important case for Iceland. An international corporation is trying to buy up the exclusive rights to our natural resources. We…
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Here Come The Creatives
Reconstructing the Icelandic economy will take more than increased fishing quotas. More than a new aluminium smelter. It will require a new way of thinking. In a downtown office loft, the staff of Caoz is immersed in the making of ‘Thor: The…
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Former Morgunblaðið Editor Styrmir Gunnarsson On Why Iceland Should Not Join The EU
Styrmir Gunnarson has been at the forefront of the Icelandic political landscape for nearly half a century, including 36 years as editor of the daily newspaper Morgunblaðið, which has strong ties to the political right in Iceland. As editor of this formerly…
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Sophia And The EU
Last winter we had a German intern here at the Grapevine. She is called Sophia van Treeck, she is awesome, and she turned in some great work over her three-month stint. Now, we like to talk about all sorts of stuff that…
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Hello, Is Anybody Out There?
Later this June—this autumn at the latest—Iceland is set to become a full candidate for membership of the European Union. An application to join was sent to Brussels in July last year, and now formal negotiations on Iceland’s membership are due to…
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Best Backyard Ever
“He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together.” The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse…
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What Are You Voting For, Reykjavík?
Here at the Grapevine, we are all big fans of Jón Gnarr and his comedic stylings. We were amused when we learned he was putting together a ‘parody party’ for the upcoming municipal elections, and we enjoyed a lot of his initial…
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The SIC Report: What’s All This Then?
When the banks collapsed in October 2008, Iceland’s bankers, politicians, and financial supervisors sprang into action—and promptly blamed everyone but themselves. As a result, it became apparent that a neutral third-party was going to be needed to investigate what caused this mess.…
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Are Icelanders An Immoral Nation?
Vilhjálmur Árnason is a professor of philosophy at the University of Iceland, as well as chair of the board of the Centre for Ethics at the university. He has dedicated his studies especially to moral theory, applied ethics and political philosophy. Vilhjálmur…
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To The Rescue!
It’s 5:45am, Saturday morning. The aftermath of a night of partying is apparent while passing the streets of downtown Reykjavík. A young man who seems to have lost his coat struggles to cross the street, finds his way to the nearest doorway…
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Cleaning Up The Mess
Noted political and social commentator Egill Helgason has hosted Iceland’s main political debate Show, Silfur Egils (now showing on RÚV, alongside his literary program Kiljan) for many years. Through his shows and his blog on local news aggregator Eyjan.is, he is undoubtedly…
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Our Murderous Fences
In twenty years, Iceland has granted four persons asylum—out of 500 applicants. Under ten percent of asylum claims are solved with a residence permit for humanitarian reasons. The rest are declined. In comparison, Denmark solves 45% of its claims by providing asylum…
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Blame Canada?
One by one men in suits of varying shades of grey approached the podium in the pit of the Reykjavík City Hall. One by one they pleaded their cases while Reykjavík’s esteemed mayor—the fourth in two years—Ms. Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir looked on…
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Milos Forman’s Masterclass
Milos Forman is sitting at café Hressó, just about the only bar in Reykjavík where one can still sit and smoke. In his hand he has a very large cigar, and in front of him is a bottle of malt. No, he’s…
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Is Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson The Architect Of The Collapse?
Political science professor Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson is a peculiar fellow. An ardent follower of the free market teachings of F.A. von Hayek and Milton Friedman, he is often referred to as the Independence Party’s chief ideologue and has been credited with laying down the lines for…
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Optimistic, Hopeless, Content
Relentlessly experimental electro/pop/whatever outfit múm are arguably one of Iceland’s most successful musical exports to date. Since forming in 1997, the band has released five successful, highly influential LPs and toured the world extensively, consistently adding to their cache of friends and fans each time around.…
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Broke, Busted, Disgusted
In front of the Icelandic parliament, protesters bang on drums, blow whistles, chant and yell while police stand by, watching. Inside, Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon is addressing his colleagues. It’s a historic day. After months of negotiations, Icelandic authorities have…
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A Is For Anarchy
“I don’t like being interviewed,” said Njáll with a sceptical air about his furrowed brow. Shit, I thought. This isn’t going to be easy. He let out a long, slow sigh, looking toward the group of young people who moments earlier had refused…
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The Awesome Absurdity of Being
SO, WE GOT THIS PRESS RELEASE THE OTHER DAY. REAL OFFICIAL LOOKING. “Reykjavík, Iceland, March 13, 2009: The official Icelandic representation at the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will feature RAGNAR KJARTANSSON, a self-described incurable romantic, whose multifaceted artistic practice is…
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David Lynch Answers Grapevine Questions On TM
As you probably know by now, Grapevine cover-star (and awesome director) David Lynch ventured to Iceland this month to preach the gospel of Transcendental Meditation and announce a nationwide project to bring “enlightenment, prosperity and peace to the people of Iceland.” We…
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Don’t Thank Icelanders For Iceland
Dreamland is the result of collaboration between documentary filmmaker Þorfinnur Guðnason and author, playwright and poet Andri Snær Magnason. It is based on the latter’s best selling, award winning 2006 non-fiction book, ‘Dreamland: A self-help manual for a Frightened Nation’ (available in…
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Our Big, Important David Lynch Interview
It was a rather amusing spectacle that played out in Háskólabíó last Saturday. Arriving late to the scene, I witnessed most of Reykjavík’s hipsters and, well, pretty much most of Reykjavík standing around in the movie theatre’s hallway, gazing intently at a…