Icelandic-Swedish Viking Film Embla to Have U.S. Debut at UMass Amherst Graduate Student Conference

Feb. 8, 2008

Contact:

Evan Torner 413/545-6681

AMHERST, Mass. – The German and Scandinavian studies division of the languages, literatures and cultures department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is hosting the United States debut screening of the Viking film Embla (2007) with the film’s award-winning Icelandic director Hrafn Gunnlaugsson present to introduce the film and discuss his work. The film is an Icelandic-Swedish co-production. The screening will take place on Friday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in 137 Isenberg School of Management.

Gunnlaugsson first came to international attention and acclaim with his film Inter Nos (Okkar a Milli, 1982), followed by the popular Viking revenge film When the Raven Flies (Hrafninn flygur, 1984), the first part of the “Raven Trilogy.” Embla is the director’s cut of the third film of the trilogy, The White Viking (Hviti vikingurinn, 1991), starring the 15-year-old Swedish actress Marie Bonnevie as Embla. The film is about a young woman’s survival during a time of violent struggle between the old religion of the Viking gods and an increasingly militant missionary Christianity. Gunnlaugsson’s films have been praised for their combination of mythic themes and attention to historical detail. Embla had its premiere at the recent 2007 Reykjavik Film Festival, and this U.S. debut represents a rare chance for an American audience to see Gunnlaugsson’s latest work and hear him discuss his career.

Born in 1948, Hrafn Gunnlaugsson received his training in theater and film at the University of Stockholm and the Swedish Dramatic Institute. A multifaceted artist, Gunnlaugsson has served as director, scriptwriter and musical soundtrack composer for all of his films. Among his many awards, the Swedish Film Institute named him best director in 1985 for Hrafninn flygur. In 2006, the Icelandic postal service created a stamp honoring the film as a seminal work in the history of that nation’s cinema. In addition to his many films, Gunnlaugsson has directed works for television and the theater, and has published poetry, short stories, a one-act play and a novel.

The film screening is the opening event of the third biennial graduate student conference, MYTH: A Graduate Conference in German and Scandinavian Studies, which will take place Feb. 15-17. During his visit to the U.S., Hrafn will also address drama students at the Amherst Regional High School. Icelandair and the Arctic Research Consortium (ARCUS) provided support for bringing the director and his film to the United States.

For more information on Hrafn Gunnlaugsson’s life and work, visit: http://www.vikingfilms.net

Film stills and supporting materials are also available; contact Evan Torner at etorner@german.umass.edu

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