“Huldufólk 102”
Nisha Inalsingh, 2006, 74 min., doc
Iceland
NEW YORK PREMIERE! – July 22 at Anthology Film Archives
“Set against the backdrop of Iceland’s breathtaking rural landscapes, Huldufolk 102 explores the country’s incredible attitude towards a supernatural phenomenon most of us associate with Walt Disney, JRR Tolkien and five-year-olds. Entitled, quite literally, ‘Hidden People 102’, Nisha Inalsingh’s film debut tackles parallel universes, fairies, elves and all things three feet tall. Interviews with farmers and academics, politicians and priests, the young, the old, the superstitious and the rational, bear testament to the survival of ancient folkloric traditions in all segments of Icelandic society. Men in suits talk very seriously about the huldufolk’s invisible houses inside rocks and stones. The matter is taken so seriously, in fact, that parliamentarians agree to divert roads around potentially ‘inhabited’ rocks! It’s not, the interviewed invariably stress, that everybody believes in these invisible beings (though 10% of the population do admit to it), but rather that most refuse to deny the possibility (80% to be sure).”
More info: www.huldufolk102.com
Arthur Magazine 