Kennaraverkföll á Íslandi til aldamóta

Regluleg kennaraverkföll á Íslandi í nærri fjóra áratugi er mörgum kynslóðum í fersku minni, daglegt líf um fjórðung þjóðarinnar raskaðist og líf nemenda tók nýja stefnu á meðan þjóðfélagsátök einkenndust af baráttu við efnhagssveiflur. "Endurgjöf" segir frá kennaraverkfallinu 1995 en rekur einnig sögu verkfalla kennara frá 1977 og áhrif þjóðarsáttar á kjaramálaumræðu.

Teacher's strikes on regular bases in Iceland for almost four decades are fresh in the memory of generations, the daily life of about a quarter of the population was disrupted and lives of students took a new direction, while social conflicts were characterized by economic fluctuations. "Feedback" focuses on the 1995 teacher's strike and sums up the story of 5 teacher's strikes from 1977.

viðmælendur/interviewees:

Elna Katrín Jónsdóttir

Einar Már Guðmundsson

Eiríkur Jónsson

Karen Rúnarsdóttir

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

Óli Gneisti Sóleyjarson

Broadcast, May 1. 2024 on Icelandic National TV (RUV)

Director's note: The main theme of the film is the class struggle in the larger context of things when looking at the development of teachers' work and duties. Often rapid social changes due to technological development and an unprecedented increase of teachers in the profession leave an impression on the history of their struggle. It was inevitable to trace the social development and the general strikes of the 1980s due to the country's economic fluctuations and political management, because almost all classes of the country were on strike at some point during the period. 

The material was "dry" when it comes to the use of terminology on economic issues. It was therefore one of the main challenges in the making of this film, that the story and the language would be accessible to a wide audience and have historical value, which would reach younger as well as older viewers who knew this story firsthand. 

Considerable data collection took place and this is the first and hopefully the only picture of the undersigned where interesting topics and comments from interviewees are left on the cutting room floor. It didn't make matters any easier that a large number of years and names of characters come back and forth, and number of teachers' associations also had countless names until the turn of the century. I considered the use of comic sketches to be important in projecting a picture of a society where the strikes in question were on everyone's lips and the whole society was subjected to, so that the nation's comedians regularly saw an opportunity to bring the material into their creations. 

I didn't think it was right to use a lot of period music to recall the almost 20-year period that the film covers, because both the visuals were a decisive review element, but also because a lot of reproduced music can reduce the character of a film. To be sure, many people can say that the film is a "common history" of a class struggle, but here we cover history promptly in part, as there were number of strikes, where worker's demands are often repeated and molded from one year to another. 

The general public got news of strikes and this struggle through television (2 channels) and print media. In this film, the scenario of these media, is their discourse, platform and experience through the TV screen only, before the time of digital revolution.

Einar Thor

Verkfallið 1955 í Reykjavík var eitt harðvítugasta verkfall í sögu landsins. Verkalýðsfélögin lögðu áherslu á félagsleg réttindi en pólitískir straumar réðust oft af kalda stríðinu. Reykjavík var í herkví, vaxandi menningarborg með litríku mannlífi sem einkenndist af innflutningi á áður óséðum munaði en einnig af braggahverfum og fátækt. Aldrei hefur borgin búið við slíkt umsátursástand.

Tilnefning til Edduverðlauna 2022 fyrir handrit.

The 1955 strike in Reykjavík was one of the hardest-hitting strikes in Iceland's history. Trade unions stressed social rights but political currents were often ruled by the Cold War. Reykjavík was an active and a growing cultural city which experienced increasing import of unseen luxuries but also full-fledged poverty. The city has never experienced such a siege.

viðmælendur/interviewees:

Guðmundur Þ. Jónsson

Margrét Sölvadóttir

Ragnheiður Kristjánsdóttir

Sigurdór Sigurdórsson

Þorleifur Friðriksson

Broadcast, May 1. 2023 on Icelandic National TV (RUV)

Í fyrsta sinn er vitasaga landsins rakin í einstakri heimildamynd. Yfir vitum hvílir dulúð þar sem þeir standa í stórbrotnu umhverfi á mörkum lands og sjávar og laða að sér fólk hvaðanæva úr heiminum. Þeir geyma sögu um það hvernig Ísland varð númtímasamfélag, fanga ímyndunaraflið og eru innblástur um fortíð og framtíð.

For the first time the history of lighthouses in Iceland is traced in a unique documentary. Over them rests mystery as they stand in a magnificent setting at the boundaries of land and sea, attracting people from all over the world. They hold a story about how Iceland came to be contemporary society in engineering and architecture, but also capturing the imagination and being an inspiration from the past to the future.

Broadcast, White Sunday & Sailor's Day June 2022, on Icelandic National TV (RUV)

Available here on vimeo - subtitled. Trailer below.

Á meðal viðmælenda eru flóttamenn frá átaksvæðunum í Donetsk, listamaður og borgarstjórinn sem rekur gæði vatnsins í borginni sinni og hvaða þýðingu það hefur til að láta hlutina ganga. Áhorfendur rekast líka á hóp fólks undirbúa útihátíð inni í skóg og reka nefið inn í leikhús.

Among visitors and interviewees are refugees from the Donetsk region, an artist and the city‘s mayor who explains the quality of the water and its significance for the city in order to continue. The audience come also across a group of people preparing an outdoor festival in the woods and have a glimpse into a theater.