Noi Albinoi
Screening: 28 January 2006
Iceland/Germany/UK/Denmark 2002
Directed by Dague Kári
Leading players ~ Tómas Lemarquis, Flröstur Leó Gunnarsson, Elin Hansdóttir.
93 minutes (subtitles)
Synopsis
In the second century of cinema a director needs to approach the age old 'coming of age' story from a unique viewpoint and in his debut feature, Dagur Kári pulls it off. Since its release in 2003 Nói Albínói has enchanted critics and audiences all over the world. It has featured at more than 30 film festivals and picked up numerous awards en route.Nói (Lemarquis ) is a dissatisfied teenager living in a remote sparsely populated fjord in the north of Iceland. Like most teenagers everywhere, let alone in an Icelandic fjord, he dreams of leaving his white walled prison. And with good reason. Nói may be a gifted student but after flunking his studies he ends up digging graves for a living. His only escape from the unremitting downward spiral from class genius to village idiot, and a drunkard father, is a hiding hole beneath his grandmother's house.
Then he glimpses Iris, the daughter of the gruff town bookshop owner, working as a forecourt attendant at the local garage. Nói's attempts to persuade her to escape with him, told in a series of comic interludes, spiral out of control.
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Film Facts
'Irresistible. A completely original coming-of-age story. There's a beguiling sense of absurdity that emerges in the delicious tension between humour and pathos. A feature debut of extraordinary promise.'Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
'For some time I've known that my films would not necessarily take place in Iceland. In 1995 I started The Danish Film School and graduated in 1999, with a 40-minute short film called Lost Weekend, shot in Denmark. Nói is a very old idea I strongly associated with Iceland. I always wanted to do my first feature film there, to establish where I come from.'
Dagur Kári
Icelandic Survival Guide
Hello - Gódan dag
I'm lost - Ég er tynd
I don't understand - Ég skil ekki
The cold is killing me - Kuldinn er ad drepa mig!
Let's go out for dinner - Förum ut ad borda.
I'm allergic to cod - Ég er med ofnæmi fyrir thorski.
When is the next volcano eruption? - Hvenær er næsta eldgos?
What the hell are you doing on my roof? -
Hvad í andskotanum ertu ad gera á thakinu mínu?
Nói Albínói won 6 international awards in one week including the Movie Zone prize in Rotterdam, Best Nordic Film, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Swedish Church Prize in Gothenburg and Best Film and Music at the Angers Film Festival.
