Lea Ævars, festival director of the RVK Feminist Film Festival, previews the 2023 event, with a look at the key directors (from the Nordics and beyond) to take note of this year
Preparing to host its fourth edition this month, the RVK Feminist Film Festival is an event celebrating female filmmakers and which aims to "strengthen female directors and equalise the gender deficit in the industry". It shows films by female directors from all over the world from its hub: three cultural venues in the centre of Reykjavik.
Ahead of the 2023 festival, we caught up with Festival Director Lea Ævars to find out what’s on her must-see list.
Tell us about the 2023 festival. What's happening?
We're showing some really beautiful horror films by the likes of Lucile Hadzihalilovic, along with films from 12 countries plus Scandinavia. The whole event is a collaboration between the Women Over 50 Film Festival in the UK, the Wench Film Festival from Mumbai, Anima Productions here in Iceland, and Nordic Film Focus.
Photo: Getty
Some things to look out for include the SISTER short film festival, Fabúlera short film script lab, a panel about the visibility of the LGTBQ+ community and a lecture about ageism in film given by Nuala O’Sullivan. We will also have a music and film premiere: Kristín Jóhannesdottír has given eight composers clips of her films to create an original soundtrack to, because as well as filmmakers, we want to promote female composers.
You’ve chosen horror as the theme for this year’s festival. Why?
It’s about a love of Halloween for me, so there will be a lot of street decorations and we’re inspired by that. Expect knives, blood, and skeletons. Not all the films are horror films, but it’s a fun theme.
We also have some films that are chilling in a different way. Shapeless, directed by Samantha Aldana is about body dysmorphia, and Innocence, the opening film by Lucile Hadzihalilovic, is a film about the many ways women are constrained.
Why did you set up the festival?
I studied film late, at 33, and found it really hard to get into the film business. I was inspired by the Stockholm Feminist Film Festival and thought we should create one out here. Some people laughed… but here we are, hosting our fourth annual event.
What do women in the film industry in Iceland need most right now?
What we are mostly fighting for now and what we would like to see is more equality in funding for women. It needs to start with regulations worked out from the film centre. So we're going to be working on that with the Icelandic Minister of Culture and Business, Lilja Alfreðsdóttir. We recently had a meeting with her and she wants to make it happen too.
What impact would you like the festival to have?
I would like people to feel very inspired. There’s so much connection when we meet at the festival. Even though we’re filmmakers from different countries, we’re all facing the same obstacles with funding and visibility and getting our work out there. So we join in anger and rage, and in laughter, and push each other up and say, we can do this. It creates a community.
Film as a medium holds an incredibly strong ability to influence people's lives; that is exactly why the RVK Feminist Film Festival is such an important festival. By increasing the visibility of films that reflect our reality, we are revolutionising stereotypes which will hopefully be a thing of the past, to create role models for the future.
Lea's five female film directors to know
Dögg Mósesdóttir
Icelandic writer, producer, director and editor Mósesdóttir's documentary film Home Again? about home birth in Iceland won numerous awards in 2022. A fascinating story exploring female rights in post-bank collapse Iceland.
Sapna Bhavnani
An Indian filmmaker, hairdresser and the Festival Director of the Wench Film Festival in Mumbai, Bhavnani has brought a package of sci-fi/horror films called Segment Resurrect to the festival this year. Bhavnani previously directed the fascinating documentary Sindhustan, the story of the historic migration of the Sindhi people through the narrative of tattoos, and is certainly one to watch.
Beatrice Baldacci
This Italian director is soft and romantic, with a dark heart that fits the horror theme perfectly. The festival will show her film The Den, about a shy boy who falls in love with a violent girl with a secret.
Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière
An award-winning 25-year-old Argentinian filmmaker, Berruezo Pichon-Rivière hails from Buenos Aires. Her film Our Happiest Days, about a 74-year-old woman who wakes up in the body of an eight-year-old girl, should make it on to your 'to-watch' list this year.
Lucile Hadzihalilovic
The French-Bosnian filmmaker is known for her artistic flair and slow, intense films. The 2023 festival includes a retrospective of her works with screenings of three feature films and three shorts.
The RVK Feminist Film Festival takes place 12-15 January 2023