ICELANDIC TIMES - Land og saga

ICELAND 63° 66° N:A remarkable Filmproject about Icelandand sensitive comments, the flowingand fascinating panoramic views areperfectly embedded into music thathad been produced exclusively forthe film.Risking all for the perfectshot2 cameras, 2 tripods, a cameracrane and dolly for mobile shots, anotebook, a bunch of batteries, harddisks and more go into the productionof a film project like this. Erdmannspared no trouble or expense to getthe perfect panoramic shot he wasaiming for. He climbed Blahnukurpeak ten times with more than30 kilos of equipment on his back,waiting patiently for the exact timingand setting to record the alpine worldof Landmannalaugar the way he hadbeen dreaming of, but to no avail.Finally, on his eleventh hike, successcame : glowing rhyolite hills, lightand shadow, clouds slowly movingacrosson the hillsides, a perfect viewof the central highlands. These arethe moments that are worth anyexertion.„Any traveller to Iceland knowsthat the weather can changedrastically from one moment to thenext. Filming on „Laugavegur“ forinstance, was especially frustrating,”Stefan recounts. “I had to do the hikein stages, going up and down severaltimes, sometimes in the pouring rain,or in thick fog or through deep snowand always with 30 kilos of equipmenton my back.” But every rain storm,snowfall, or foggy weather eventuallycomes to an end and it is precisely inthese moments, when the sun breaksthrough the clouds, that you know ithas been worth all the effort. Everytime it is like a revelation and can‘t bedescribed in words.“New perspectivesOn his first landing approach toIceland many years ago, Erdmanndreamt about filming the naturallandscape from above. Afterextensive search he met the Icelandicpilot Þórhallur Òskarsson. Thetwo have flown more than 2.000kilometres over Iceland, taking thefootage for this unique film projectwith a completely new perspectiveon the fascinating landscape of theisland: the result of which is IcelandFrom Above “This land appears to lieunder a spell and it often seems to methat Earth is holding her breath. Weare floating over a great, overall workof art, hundreds of square kilometres-always re-creating and shapingitself anew, yet showing absoluteperfection at any given moment.“ -Aquote from Stefan Erdman’s latestfilm ICELAND FROM ABOVE..ISLAND 63° 66° N- A declaration of love andhomage to IcelandA film that is intense, emotional andinformative, Erdmann’s love andpassion for the country is vividlyportrayed in a way that no otherfilm about Iceland has been able toachieve. Within the growing ranksof Iceland’s fans in German speakingcountries, this exceptional film hasalready gained cult status. Also ofnote is a commentary (in Icelandic)about ISLAND 63° 66° N by Icelandicenvironmentalist Omar Ragnarssoncan be found on his blog: The film isavailable throughout Iceland and atwww.icelandfilm.comWith a thundering noise, giganticwaves come rolling onto theblack lava beach, and the eveningsun paints a supernatural light onthe water’s surface. A man’s voiceis heard- “The first time, I felt sodeeply touched by your beauty,your serenity.The second time you made mefeel secure, composed and in goodhands. The third time I wept withhappiness to be here once more, andthe thought of having to say farewellwas overwhelming. You are withme… day by day. You arouse in mejoy, desire… longing. You belongin my life forever. “ These wordssound like a declaration of lovefrom a man to a woman - however,they are a declaration of love to acountry. To Iceland. It is the voice ofStefan Erdmann and his preliminarywords of the first part of thedocumentary“ISLAND 63° 66° N“.30.000 km on the road, andmore than 500 hours offootageStefan Erdmann began this projectmany years ago on his own initiative.He ended up criss-crossing thecountry by jeep 16 times, flyinghundreds of kilometers with hisfriend Þorhallur Oskarsson inan ultralight airplane and hikingfor many days in the IcelandicHighlands. More than 500 hoursof footage was shot, the essence ofwhich has been skillfully composedby the filmmaker, who succeeds inbringing the viewer very close to theaction. Narrated with informative42 43