It’s early evening in California and the sun is still shining. Nine hours away, the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik is also enjoying its summer where the midnight sun burns relentlessly. For Reykjavik-born actor Atli Óskar Fjalarsson, the two are both worlds away. Since leaving Iceland to study acting at college, both...
Anyone who remembers adolescence as the best years of their life is a liar, and anyone in need of proof why needs only to watch Sparrows to understand that, put simply, being a teenager really sucks. Sparrows (Þrestir), the latest film by Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson is a meditation on growing up (or refusing...
Iceland’s funny man – interview with Jonathan Duffy
Australian in Iceland Jonathan Duffy aka Jono is taking both Scandinavia and the world by storm with his comedy. On the back of his work at Eurovision, Jono is now penning a memoir about a life less ordinary. He recently took some time out to talk and make us laugh. You started acting at eight years old. Were you a...
Out of the depths: Interview with Owls of the Swamp
As the man behind Owls of the Swamp, Pete Uhlenbruch’s indie-folk sounds have managed to find their way from Australia all through Europe. Pete recently took some time out to talk to us about his music. When did you first begin performing, and how did Owls of the Swamp come about? I’ve been playing guitar in various...
My island homes: interview with Grant Nicol
Grant Nicol was celebrating his fortieth birthday in Reykjavik when he decided he wanted to make Iceland home. Some might think that the New Zealand writer had merely swapped one volcanic island for another but, after leaving his homeland 23 years ago to work in both Australia and the United Kingdom, Grant knew...
On the road in north Iceland
If you are visiting the north side of the country of Iceland and want to do some exploring then Eyjafjardardalur is a place you should definitely have a look at. Last weekend I visited Akureyri, which is located on the north side of the country, around 380 KM from the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, with my family. We...
If you haven’t heard of Trapped, (or Ófærð in Icelandic) then don’t worry: it’s more than likely on its way to you already. The new Icelandic crime series has screened on the BBC, in France and distribution rights have now been sold to the US. Yep, it seems like our hunger for The Killing is far from...
Burning to write: Davíð Rafn Kristjánsson
Davíð Rafn Kristjánsson was never one for writing. It took a move to another continent, on the other side of the world for the 34-year-old to start expressing his thoughts and ideas through the written word. The result is Burning Karma (Wild Pressed Books), which tells the story of Böddi, who wakes up in a hospital...
Back in 1996, when I was a child growing up in rural New South Wales, an alien from outer-space came crashing down on earth and her name was Bjork. Like a lot of people, my friend and I quickly became fixated by her single, ‘It’s oh-so Quiet’, maybe because we developed good taste in music at any early age, but...
Brothers’ grim love story
There’s a farm in Iceland that could be any farm in Iceland: snow-capped fjords, an endless expanse of land that only shrinks away any sign of human life, and of course, sheep. The only difference here is that the wire fence separating one farm from another may as well be the Berlin Wall for all the distance between...
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