Rokk í Reykjavík (1982)

Rokk í Reykjavík was a documentary directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson during the Icelandic winter of 1981-1982 and released for the local television the same year.
With this documentary, Friðriksson showcases the alternative music scene through several performances of the post punk and New Wave most important bands at that time taken from different concerts and accompanied by, some times, short interviews with musicians, and it portrays the lifestyle of the Icelandic youth faced to the establishment and advocated to anarchy, who were trying to find their own identity.
Rokk í Reykjavík is today considered as one of the most important documentaries about the Icelandic music culture and it included several important bands. For instance, Tappi Tíkarrass, a punk band led by vocalist Björk Guðmundsdóttir contributed with two of their works: “Hrollur” and “Dúkkulísur”. The New Wave band Þeyr, today considered as one of the legendary Iceland bands of the early eighties, is featured here with their songs “Rúdolf” and “Killer Boogie”.
It is also worth of mentioning, the presence of Einar Örn Benediktsson’s punk group Purrkur Pillnikk, which appeared with two tracks: “Ovænt” and “Gluggagægir”.
Other important artists featured here are Bubbi Morthens with his band Egó, Fræbbblarnir, Grýlurnar, and the renowned Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson with his chanting of “Rímur”, among others.
As this film was the first Icelandic work in Dolby Stereo, it brought innovation to the Icelandic film industry. With Íslenska kvikmyndasamsteypan as the distributor, Rokk í Reykjavík was released in VHS format. The soundtrack to this film was released as a double LP compilation by Hugrenningur in April 1982. The image cover for this release depicts singer Björk from (at that moment) Tappi Tíkarrass on stage.