today is dagur kari’s birthday. he is one of the best new directors to come from iceland.
i met dagur in 2003, at tiff, where he ended up getting the biggest prize with his first long feature, noi albinoi. I remember he bought a very old, broken harmonica he loved. also, I remember he was very shy, apart from when he spoke about films and what he loved.
he came back 2 years later, with dark horse, and we met again, and, as he was part of slow blow, the band who did the soundtrack for noi albinoi, I got the cd. I got him a light blue bear for his baby girl.
In 2009, dagur’s first eanglish language film, the good heart, premiered at tiff (Toronto). You have a related interview here
I’m very jaded when it comes to films, I rarely see anything that’s sufficient: most films have messed up storylines, inconsequent characters, light where there shouldn’t be any, you name it. dagur makes believable, subtle films dealing with alienation and finding your way in a pre-fabricated world. and I totally relate to that.
happy birthday, dagur, and thank you for your good films!
photo credits: google search
