Margrét Jónasdóttir

This year marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s iconic Eurovision victory, a milestone that calls for a celebratory cinematic tribute fitting for the ultimate pop band. ‘ABBA: Against the Odds’ unveils the epic journey of ABBA’s rise to global fame. Starting with the moment they won Eurovision, it tells the story of how they overcame critical backlash, societal attitudes and marital break-up to deliver their ground-breaking music and prove themselves as a live act.

Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.

The opening of The Vasulka Effect couldn’t be more apt: Steina Vasulka addresses her husband Woody through various TV screens. He does the same and replies. A perfect image of the relationship between the free-spirited, groundbreaking pioneers of video art. After meeting in Prague in the early 1960s, they relocated from Czechoslovakia to New York, where they later founded The Kitchen, their legendary art and performance gallery.

Ragnar Alexsson, a.k.a. RAX, is among the most celebrated photographers in the world. His series Faces of the North are a living document of the dying cultures of the far northern reaches of the planet. His photo essays of farmers and fishermen in Icleand, and of the great hunters of Greenland give an amazing insight into everyday life of people who struggle a daily battle with the Arctic nature. A celebration of the photographer and his subjects, Last Days of the Arctic is an elegy for a disappearing landscape and the people who inhabit it.

Innocence tells the story of children who resisted to be enlisted but capitulated. Their stories were never told as they died during their service. Through a narration based on their haunting diaries, the film depicts their inner turmoil. It interweaves first-hand military images, key moments from childhood until enlistment and home videos of the deceased soldiers whose stories are silenced and seen as a national threat.

Darryl Francis (55), an ex-convict in Los Angeles can't get a job after returning from prison. In the hope of providing for his wife and three kids, he dreams of becoming a professional writer. After many failed attempts, Darryl reaches out to an Icelandic friend and writing therapist for help. Together they decide to document his battle against procrastination and past pain, in the hope of unlocking his writing talent.

A girls' basketball team in Iceland push against societies expectations under the guidance of an unconventional coach, Brynjar Karl Sigurðsson. The team are ready to change the world, but is the world ready for them?

Oli, his young girlfriend, and a scheming colleague are fleeing the Icelandic financial crises with a fortune in forbidden cash stuffed into a duffel bag. They head for Spain in their boat under cover of night. The seas rage and a horrible accident occurs. Marooned on a freezing outcrop of rock, the tension builds as the three violently disagree as they take drastic measures to survive.

This film tells the story of itinerant circus performers, cabaret acts and fairground attractions, showing rarities and never-before seen footage of fairgrounds, circus entertainment, freak shows, variety performances, music hall and seaside entertainment, chronicled from the 19th and 20th century. We will see early shows that wowed the world and home movies of some of the greatest circus families. Director Benedikt Erlingsson takes us back to the days when the most outlandish, skillful and breathtaking acts traveled the world. This rich visual archive has been created with exclusive access to The University of Sheffield’s National Fairground Archive and is accompanied by an epic new score by Georg Holm and Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós, in collaboration with Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Kjartan Dagur Holm.