traditional Icelandic fischerman

British media production student’s explore the folktales of Iceland

Media Production students and graduates from Coventry University in the UK are travelling to Iceland to produce a short documentary that explores the magical stories of Iceland’s hidden people. The students are looking for people on the Island who have stories, opinions or beliefs about the Huldufólk and are willing to share them on camera.

According to a press release send in by the production team the film will be a respectful exploration of Icelandic folk tales, focusing on the hidden people (Huldufólk as they are called in Icelandic) and what they mean to the locals and their land. It will try to understand and uncover a deeper meaning as to why the Huldufólk are an integral part of many Icelanders’ beliefs. The aim is to send the finished film to international short film festivals.

Media Production lecturer, Steve Dawkins, who is accompanying the students explained:

“When people in the UK hear that Icelandic people believe in the hidden people, they are entranced, especially in the fast-paced age of the internet. Our documentary will be a serious and respectful documentary that tries to get over how and why people believe in them and why it is important that people still believe. We are coming to Iceland to hear the stories that people have and would love people to contact us”.

The trip is a wonderful opportunity for the students to develop their own professional practice. Producer, Charley Fletcher notes:

“We’ve been working on the project for a long time now and have learnt so much in such a short time. I cannot wait to shoot in Iceland to film the country and to meet the people. We are all very excited about the film sharing it with the world.”

The film’s Editor, Caitlin Young adds:

“Our documentary is a great opportunity for me as a media practitioner. I’m so excited to see Iceland from the perspective of a film maker but, on a personal level, I’m looking forward learning more about the culture and meeting a mixture of people and connecting with them.”

Although the students are based in Reykjavik, they are happy to travel to other parts of the island. Volunteers will need to be available for approximately one hour on one day, to be negotiated, between the dates of Tuesday 22nd September and Friday 25th September 2015.

If you are interested, please contact the Producers of the documentary: Charley Fletcher at fletch49@uni.coventry.ac.uk, +447758397954 or Laura Mobbs at mobbsl@uni.coventry.ac.uk, +447516983522