Heima x Bolia

An Icelandic art collective

Ever since 2013, Heima, the Icelandic art collective, has been bringing together industry sectors, creative, passionate individuals and artists from a wide range of disciplines, to create a very special space. An artistic hybrid of genres, qualities and ideas. An art project and highly innovative art collective focusing on creativity, diversity and innovation. Together with Heima and Jonas Bang, we've created a captivating documentary on the spellbinding Icelandic town of Seyðisfjörður, and the personal stories of four women.

Bolia x Heima Art Residency x Jonas Bang

We are constantly on the lookout for new experiences and creative constellations. We collaborate with a wealth of different creative people who are constantly giving us new perspectives and ideas for the collection. We've joined forces with the Icelandic art collective Heima and Danish film director Jonas Bang to create a film on the town of Seyðisfjörður, nestling in the stunning, dramatic landscape around Iceland's eastern fjords. We learned of the personal, honest and moving stories of the four women over the phone. Jonas Bang has worked closely with cameraman Jason Idris Alami, creating a uniquely candid look into life at the end of the world. We talked to Jonas Bang on the creation of the documentary.

Directed by Jonas Bang

Filmed by Jason Idris Alami

Produced by Bolia & Heima Art Residency 

Edited by Jonas Bang

Music by August Rosenbaum 

We actually started out writing a full script for a fictional short film we wanted to film in Seyðisfjörður but after researching on the town we decided that it would be much more interesting not to script anything before going. We wanted to attempt to let our meeting with the place and the people guide what the film was going to be and not the other way around. We wanted to let our intuition guide us rather than our habitual ways and written rules about filmmaking and perception. The plan was no-plan which was both frightening and relieving. But that is how we entered the place and the film slowly emerged as a portrait of Seyðisfjörður.

Two things come to mind that both relates to the culture of this particular little place. The first thing can be seen in small things like the fact that no one locks the doors to their houses and they often leave the keys in the car. I guess it is a kind of communal trust that I found very inspiring. 

The other thing has to do with the openness of the people here towards newcomers and new initiatives. The group of people behind both Heima and the LungA School seems to be able to do what they do as a result of being welcomed into the community. It is both places and people like this that makes it possible for the art to run so freely on these latitudes.