Iceland's orchestral-pop stars, Sigur Rós, make their
Los Angeles premiere with their fi rst concert film.
The director, Dean de Blois, and production
team - including producers John Best and Dean
O'Connor - filmed over the course of two weeks
last summer as the band toured Iceland, performing
for free as a way of saying thanks to their
fans. The film, SIGUR ROS - HEIMA, literally
translates to "home." And so the internationally
recognized band returns.
The film's producers also manage the group, and
they've had the idea of documenting the band
for several years. As fi rst-time documentary
filmmakers, the duo and de Blois (director of the
Oscar-nominated Lilo & Stitch) show us Sigur Rós
in outdoor venues that showcase the splendor of
the country as much as they do the band.
Funds for the film came from a variety of outlets,
including the band's record label, EMI, the Icelandic
Film Fund, Iceland Air, and Reykjavik city
council. The band members invested, as well.
As far as the live-work-art balance was concerned
while producing the film, O'Connor exerts, "It's all
a bit of a blur."
The series of shows were unannounced and acoustic.
The band and film crew ranged across the
country, from a small abandoned fi sh camp to the
austere beauty of a national park to the biggest
rock show in Iceland's history.
Members of Sigur Rós refl ect on their music and
their homeland in candid interviews. And in the
performance scenes, the band's resonant music
and the majestic landscape are refl ected in the
fans' faces.
They're obviously overjoyed that Sigur Rós has
come home.
By MICHELLE PASTER, Daily News Managing Editor
