Film School students won at The Stockfish Film Festival

At the film festival, there was the competition Shortfish and another called Documentary category where the best short films and documentaries competed for the title. The committee of the festival had dozens of pictures to choose from, but only 5 made it to the competition in each category. In the short film category Acted content, IFS students had 3 out of 5 films. In the documentary work short film category, our students had 3 out of 5 films. IFS students therefore had 60% of the artworks in these categories of the Stockfish festival.

Marie Lydie Bierne, a current student at IFS, won in the Documentary category (Sprettfiskurinn/Shortfish) with her work "Keep F****** Going". She both directed and produced the work.

The jury was composed of Ingibjörg Halldórsdóttir, Álfrún Helga Örnólfsdóttir and Víðir Sigurðsson, and the winner was awarded 500,000 ISK in a withdrawal from the equipment rental company KUKL, 700,000 ISK in a cash prize from RÚV and a 200,000 ISK withdrawal in the form of services from Trickshot.

Jury comments

"The winning film gently welcomes the audience into an intimate space, where a group of people who don’t feel accepted within the norms of society share their darkest moments. They have created a space where “weirdness” is celebrated, not just accepted. The subjects are honest and the director obviously has their trust. 

The film is personal, moving and well crafted."

Anna Karín Lárusdóttir, a former student of IFS, won in the Acted material category (Sprettfiskurinn/Shortfish) with her short film "Felt Cute". She directed the film.

The jury was made up of Björn Thors, Tinna Hrafnsdóttir and Ragnheiður Erlingsdóttir, and the winner receives a prize of one million ISK in a withdrawal from the equipment rental company KUKL, a cash prize of ISK 700,000 from RÚV and a withdrawal of ISK 200,000 in the form of services from Trickshot.

Jury comments

"The director of the winning short film takes the audience on an effective journey into the mind of a youth trying to figure out his place in the world. The standout performance of the young actor particularly impressed the jury as well as the strong directorial voice of this tender and touching short film."

This winter, IFS is celebrating its 30th anniversary, but since 2004 it has graduated over 600 students. IFS, together with The Icelandic Film Center, has become one of the two most important pillars of the film industry in Iceland.