About Us

The Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) was founded in 2004 by a group of film enthusiasts and professionals with the goal of creating an annual international film festival in Reykjavik. The aim is to establish a major film event to enrich and enliven the local film culture, but moreover, to become an international attraction. We believe that by building up an innovative film festival in Reykjavik, our foreign guests will have a unique opportunity to participate in an exciting cultural event, as well as visiting a country renowned for its natural wonders and dynamic culture.

The festival organized its first event in Reykjavik in November 2004, initiating a discussion of the role and importance of film festivals in a local and international context. A festival program was organized in relation to the seminar, showing films by Icelandic film directors and professionals that work outside of Iceland. Next year the event was repeated and programmer Dimitri Eipides was brought on board to supervise the growing film selection as he has done ever since.

By 2006, RIFF’s reputation had already spread considerably and the number of international guests multiplied. Representatives from prestigious media such as Variety, The Guardian and IndieWIRE attended the festival and one journalist summed his experience up by calling RIFF “one of the best-kept secrets of the film festival circuit.” The programme had then grown to incorporate over a hundred films, masterclasses, symposiums and panel discussions – and we even managed to cram a few concerts in too. Grbavica by Jasmila Zbanic was the ‘Discovery of the Year’ and RIFF’s first time FIPRESCI jury awarded Red Road by Andrea Arnold. Aleksandr Sokurov was given the lifetime achievement award and Atom Egoyan accepted recognition for his creative excellency. Attendance soared to over 15.000 and the festival was considered an enormous success, both locally and internationally.

RIFF was by then taking the form that it has later strengthened and you can read about the next festivals here:

2007 2008 2009 2010

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