As we have done in the past, the U.S. Embassy supported the Reykjavik International Film Festival, which had a lot of entries from independent American filmmakers. While I missed most of the festival as I was out of the country, I managed to see “Beasts of the Southern Wild” by Benh Zeitlin, which earned the top prize —the Golden Puffin. The film tells a wonderful yet poignant story of a young girl named Hush Puppy who lives in a mythical area of the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans. Another American winner was the Film “Starlet” by American Director Sean Baker. It received the FIPRESCI Critics’ Award. In addition, the U.S. Embassy supported the screening of documentaries by American film makers on important global issues such as climate change (“Chasing Ice” by Jeff Orlowski ) and the struggle against maternal and infant mortality (“Sister” by Brenda Davis). A former U.S. Fulbright grant recipient, Andrea Sisson, screened her film inspired by her time in Iceland, a fine example of the results that emerge from cultural exchange between our two countries.
