Nuna (now) — soon
Icelandic/Manitoban festival set to make last year’s Norwegian/Albertan festival look like two-years-ago’s Latvian/New Brunswickian festival
EVAN JONSSON STAFF
Still trying to live down their devilish turn as a villainous foreign Pee Wee hockey squad in D2: the Mighty Ducks, the nation of Iceland finally looks poised to overcome its checkered past with Nuna (now), an upcoming Icelandic/Manitoban arts festival that will make the week of April 22 to 29 its bitch. Though not envisioned as a direct response to D2 per se, Nuna features a tantalizing array of artsy happenings including live music, dance, film, visual art, book readings and theatre; all of which should do much to dispel the bitter memory of that distasteful Disney sequel.
Film-wise, the Park Theatre will be screening two short film programs which will include work by local favourites Guy Maddin, Matt Holm and “the Mighty Kraken” (who directed a number of Weakerthans music videos and also — allegedly — killed and ate dozens of British and Scandinavian sailors in the 1700s.) Also, Cinematheque will host a screening of Egill Edvardsson’s spooky feature film, The House, which takes place in beautiful Reykjavik.
ILLUSTRATION BY GALEN JOHNSON
The intrepid and bookish are advised to longboat their way to Gimli for April 24’s “literary evening,” while those who “get” modern dance, or just like watching a beautiful Icelandic woman move around for a while, should check out Freya Olafson’s multimedia performance at the Gas Station Theatre on April 25 and 26. There’s also a live Weakerthans performance on April 28 at the Garrick and a three-day “Collage Party” at the Graffiti Gallery, from April 27 to 29.
The Gas Station Theatre will be hosting a smattering of theatrical works: Zona Pellucida, on April 22 is a piece of video-theatre art from two Montreal men, while the double-header of You Fancy Yourself and The Sound of Your Eyes Closing, both concerning somewhat the plights of immigration, finds itself scheduled against the Weakerthans on April 28. Finally, there’s the intriguingly titled panel discussion “What’s Icelandic About That?” at the Graffiti Gallery on April 29, in which, presumably, the eccentric soul and indomitable spirit of Iceland will be explored and prodded until, hopefully, it is coaxed out of intangibility and bottled and sold, so we can all get a taste of that crisp, clear, Icelandic weirdness.
