Nearly 20 films are screening this week at the film festival in Reykjavik held March 1-11, including Haq’s What Will People Say and Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman.

The Stockfish Film Festival organised by Iceland’s industry trade associations, in collaboration with Bíó Paradís and the Icelandic Film Centre, was set up four years ago to boost the collaboration between the Icelandic and international film communities.

Among this year’s 19 guests are Toronto’s senior programmer Steve Gravestock, Arne Bro, Head of the Documentary department at the National Film School of Denmark, Norwegian director Iram Haq and Iceland’s rising star Hera Hilmar. The young actress plays against Sir Ben Kingsley in the US film An Ordinary Man that opened Stockfish last Thursday. She also stars in the Icelandic film Summer Children and will next appear in Peter Jackson’s fantasy film Mortal Engines.

Some of the festival’s highlights was Saturday’s panel ‘Nordic Female Filmmakers Meeting Point’ attended by Haq and her Nordic colleagues Isabella Eklöf (Holiday), Zaida Bergroth (Miami), Frida Barkfors (Pervert Park),Dögg Mósesdóttir (La casa de los órganos) and Ísold Uggadóttir (And Breathe Normally).

Today’s panel Film Location Summit brings together Icelandic professionals from Film in Iceland, Truenorth, Sagafilm, Pegasus and UK location manager Emma Pill (Blade Runner 2049, Inception, Spectre) who will discuss the advantages of filming in Iceland and getting access to the 25% tax incentive.

On Saturday’s closing night, the jury of this year’s Shortfish awards, directors Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (Under the Tree), Ísold Uggadóttir and producer Hlín Jóhannesdóttir (The Swan) will hand out the statuette to one six short films nominated: Behind Closed Curtains by Hanna Björg Jónsdóttir, I’ll See You Soon by Örvar Hafþórsson, Open by Atli Sigurjónsson and Ed Hancox, Sama by Pantea Kabeh, The Day the Beans RanOut by Guðný Rós Þórhallsdóttir and Viktoría by Brúsi Ólason.

Stockfish Film Festival was supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

For further information on the festival CLICK HERE.