On September 20, Scandinavia House will screen the new Icelandic experimental documentary At Noon Fell a Darkness by filmmaker Derrick Belcham, followed by a musical performance by composer Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir. A poetic profile of 15 prominent Icelandic musicians and poets as they travel home to Reykjavik for Sigur Ros’s inaugural Norður og Niður festival in the winter of 2017-18, At Noon Fell a Darkness follows acclaimed and award-winning artists such as Gyða Valtýsdóttir, Sóley Stefánsdóttir, Bára Gísladóttir, Sigrún Jónsdóttir, Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, Kórus, Mammút, Úlfur Hansson, Alex Somers, Gerður Kristný, Fríða Ísberg and Arngunnur Árnadóttir. Set in locations ranging from lighthouses to abandoned pools to mountains to volcanic beaches, this documentary captures a unique and contemporary moment in the history of Icelandic art.
Following the screening, Icelandic composer Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir performs a new composition with very special guests. Filmmaker Derrick Belcham will also be present at the screening for a Q&A.
About the Director
Derrick Belcham is a Canadian filmmaker based out of Brooklyn, NY whose work in documentary and performance film has lead him to work with such artists as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Paul Simon and hundreds of others in music, dance, theater and architecture. He has created works and lectured at such institutions as MoMA PS1, MoCA, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Whitney Museum Of American Art, Musee D’Art Contemporain, The Philip Johnson Glass House, Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati.
His work regularly appears in publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, Pitchfork, NPR and Rolling Stone as well as being screened at short, dance and experimental festivals and retrospectives around the world.
About the Composer
Hailing from the north of Iceland, now Reykjavík/Brooklyn-based composer, performer and sound artist, Bergrún, follows an offbeat trajectory, often integrating visual and auditory medias in her compositions and situations. A constant thread in her work could be described as an attempt at re-creating perceived phenomena through instinctive symbolisms, using whatever means necessary.
Her excursions into experimental music have been performed widely by groups such as the Oslo Philharmonic (NO), Iceland Symphony Orchestra (IS), International Contemporary Ensemble ICE (US), Scenatet (DK), Avanti! Chamber Orchestra (FI) and featured in festivals like Only Connect (NO), Tectonics Music Festival Glasgow/Reykjavík, SPOR Festival (DK), Nordic Music Days London/Reykjavík, Ultima Festival (NO), KLANG Festival (DK), World New Music Days (CN), Sigur Rós’s Norður og Niður Festival (IS) and more.
As a performer she has a diverse background, having in the past toured and recorded with acts like Sigur Rós and Björk, released two albums with her avant balkan band Orphic Oxtra as well as being a performer of new contemporary music. An alumni of Mills College, Oakland (where she studied with Pauline Oliveros, Zeena Parkins and Fred Frith) and the Iceland Academy of the Arts, she is also a member of composers’ collective S.L.Á.T.U.R. (Artistically Obtrusive Composers Around Reykjavík).
Iceland 100
1537470000
1537475400
THU—September 20—7 PM
$15 ($10 ASF Members)
65 min. In Icelandic with English subtitles.