The curtain rises Thursday (26 September) on the 21st Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) – Iceland’s biggest annual film event – bringing an impressive roster of screenings, events and famous guests to the Icelandic capital. Opening the hefty programme for RIFF, one thing is clear: independent, pioneering cinema is king here, with emerging filmmakers at the heart of proceedings. This is particularly evident in the festival’s ‘New Visions’ selection, which sees up-and-coming directors present their first or second feature film to compete for the festival’s main accolade, the Golden Puffin.
These emerging filmmakers will be showing alongside greats of the industry, who will be present (in person or virtually) in . This year’s guests include actress Nastassja Kinski, famed for Roman Polanski’s (1979) and Wim Wenders’ 1984 neo-western , the latter of which will be screened at RIFF together with Paul Schrader’s (1982), and followed by a masterclass by Kinski; director Bong Joon-ho, of (2019) fame, who will join Icelandic audiences for a discussion following the screening of his earlier films (2009) and (2006); and Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, co-producer of three films with Oscar-nominated, BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning director , who brings three films to screen in Iceland, including her 2024 drama . Each year, RIFF dedicates a section of its programming to a particular country.
This year, Sweden comes under the spotlight, with films .