A lighthouse keeper prepares his earthly funeral while trying to reconnect the elf within.
Hulda and Trausti have shared a roof on Icelandic shores for over seventy years. Her love of books is matched by his love of stones. When he bursts out singing, she begs him to stop screaming, when he tells her he wants to change his name to “Elf” she warns his family will abandon him. Now, as his one hundredth birthday nears and Trausti senses the hand of death upon him he is on a quest to find the coffin that can carry this elf back to the mysteries beyond…. Meanwhile, Hulda retreats into a world of poetry with the help of an electric magnifying glass. Half Elf is a modern Icelandic fairy-tale, where life is celebrated – despite everything, despite ourselves and despite the reality that awaits all of us in the end.
____________________________________________________________“A strong, solid story, sincerely told; an unpretentious film that captivates you from the first shot and makes you laugh and cry in equal measure. It features priceless characters that have a strong bond with nature and Icelandic cultural heritage. The film reminds you to not take life too seriously and to make sure you have fun, yet it also makes you think about death and it’s aftermath.”
– Winner of ‘the Grand Jury Prize’ at Skjaldborg, the Icelandic Documentary Film Festival 2020.
____________________________________________________________“Kind of a masterpiece […] The grandfather is a sprawling life force, I can not stop thinking about him, and I want to be exactly like him […] Hope most of you will see this film.
– Eiríkur Guðmundsson, radio host at Víðsjá, a cultural radio program on National Radio 1 of the Icelandic National broadcasting Service, 2021.
____________________________________________________________“A piece of cinematic genius, managing to negotiate between lighthearted sweetness and the intense processes of ageing. […] beautifully intimate and personal, showcasing the merits of how ethnographic film can allow us into homes, families, life and death.”
– Lula Wattam, The RAI Film Festival Blog, 2021.
____________________________________________________________“An experience of unfettered joy” […] that comes “with a lightness of being that offers inspiration to us all.”
– A special mention at the Ava Award of the European Association of Social Anthropologists Age and Generations Network, 2021.
____________________________________________________________“An excellent example of what good and thoroughly thought-out camera work means in the making of a wonderful film. The camera always seems to be in the right place, at the right angle, the right length of shot, with the right framing at the right time, capturing those magical moments…”
– Winner of ‘the Manfred Krüger Awards’ for excellent camera work at the 16th biannual German International Ethnographic Film Festival, GIEFF, 2022.
____________________________________________________________“This film greatly impressed us with its delicate portrait that masterfully captures the whimsical character of a man determined to see his hundredth birthday, and for whom songs and poetry constitute the fabric of his daily life. […] The grandfather’s relationship to the mythical elf takes on a transcendental meaning, as he uses the figure as a means to believe in something superior or parallel to his daily life. His spirit and love of life are infectious in viewing this film.”
– Winner of the ‘Best Student Film Awards’ at the 31st International Festival of Ethnological Film in Belgrade, Serbia, 2022.
