Director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson receiving his award at the closing ceremony of Summer Film School in Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic.
Director Fridrik Thór Fridriksson received a lifetime achievement award from the Association of Czech Film Clubs for his contribution to world cinema at the 36th Summer Film School Festival (July 22-31) in the Czech Republic. The festival did a major retrospective of Fridriksson’s oeuvre and also included a wide selection of Icelandic films past and present. Directors Dagur Kári, Hrafn Gunnlaugsson and Börkur Gunnarsson also attended the festival.
Renowned directors Ken Loach and Bela Tarr also received similar awards and the festival screened a good selection of their work.
Held in the charming town of Uherske Hradiste in the southeast district of Moravia, Summer Film School is an intimate event with an emphasis on retrospectives, thematically linked programming and – hence the title – varied selection of lectures, discussions and directors’ masterclasses. The town has only one cinema proper – the fantastic Hvezda (Star), with other screenings taking place in nearby sport halls, concert venues, theatres, social halls and the town square. The festival had a relaxed vibe, with mostly younger crowd filling up the screening venues.
Apart from the retrospectives of Fridriksson and Dagur Kári, the Icelandic films screened at the festival were mostly divided into the comedy, viking films and music films categories. ICN’s editor Ásgrímur Sverrisson also gave lectures on Icelandic film history past and present and introduced several of the films.
Check out the photo gallery – all photos: Summer Film School, 2010.
