Andri Snær Magnason's Blog, page 2
December 5, 2022
Keynote for the Green Earth Book Award Celebration
Join us virtually for the Green Earth Book Award Ceremony, December 7th, 2022 7 – 8:30 PM EST. I will be holding the keynote address for the event. I have the honour of receiving the Green Earth Book Awards Honours for two of my books. The Casket of Time 2020 and The Story of the Blue Planet 2013.
August 17, 2022
New Short Fiction available online
I wrote a new short story for Emergence Magazine, my first piece of fiction published for a few years and very refreshing to be back on that track. This story is about and architect in Reykjavík, that gets a dream project, but for many reason it goes wrong and throughout the story, a paving brick is on it’s way through the window of a Range Rover Vogue SUV. Nicholas Burns in Winnepeg sent me an interesting quote after reading the story: “In some ways, this brief tale is the antithesis of Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”, and that alone makes it well worth reading.”
Now at least six of my books are now available in English, so you can get some idea of the range of my writing:
The Story of the Blue Planet, a book for children and former children, LoveStar, winner of the Philip K Dick special mention Award, The Casket of Time, a YA book, for all ages, Bónus Poetry, a mythological journey through a Bónus Supermarket in Iceland, Dreamland – a Self Help Manual for a Frightened Nation and On Time and Water.
This is my third Emergence Magazine collaboration. You can see my film Apausalypse here, Dreamland is free online here and it seems like my other film The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole, a bipolar musical documentary with elephants.
January 22, 2022
Attending Hay Festival in Columbia: Cartagena and Medellín, January 2022
On Time and Water is published in the Spanish Speaking World and I am heading to Columbia to take part in the HAY festivals in Medellín and Cartagena. Really looking forward to seeing that part of the world.
“Among the authors who stand out in the literature category are Piedad Bonnett, Martín Caparrós, Jonathan Franzen, Yaa Gyasi, Daniel Kehlmann, Vanessa Londoño, Carmen María Machado, and Mario Mendoza. The talks on science go hand in hand with Brigitte Baptiste, Wade Davis, Mauricio Diazgranados, Carlos López-Otín, Andri Snaer Magnason, Aida Vasco, while Julia Cagé, Adela Cortina, Reni Eddo-Lodge, and Thomas Piketty will present on economics.”
Website of the festivals are here:
November 8, 2021
The Handshake of Generations
The handshake of generations – Chapter from On Time and Water. from Ground Control Productions on Vimeo.
When is someone still alive that you will love? Here I am reading a chapter from my book – On Time and Water. Filmed with the characters in that chapter, Grandmother Hulda Filippusdóttir, born 1924 and my youngest daughter Hulda Filippía, born 2008.
Try to calculate for yourself. If you are lucky and become 90, and you have a favourite 20 year old in your life – when is someone still alive that you will love, if that person becomes 90? How far does your love and influence reach into the future?
This video was filmed by Andon Smári Gunnarsson, edited by Eva Lind Höskuldsdóttir, the music from Högni Egilsson in our Time and Water performance in the City Theatre of Reykjavík, directed by Anni Ólafsdóttir.
November 6, 2021
New short film: Among the Living – by Marketa Irglová
Sometimes saying yes leads you to unexpected places. So when Högni Egilsson asked me to join him on a trip to Nepal with Anni Ólafsdóttir to film a concert in Kathmandu I said yes. And five years later we had a full feature documentary film: The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole – A Bipolar Musical Documentary with Elephants. Marketa Irglová saw the film and asked us if we could do a video to her new song – Among the Living – and of course we said yes. Among the living is a long and rich song by Marketa Irglová, written and composed during a special time in human history, when a pandemic swept across the globe. The song is dedicated to the millions of people that have suffered from loneliness, sickness, loss and grief. But it was quite a challenge, the song is 15 minutes long, so the task is closer to making a short film, rather than a traditional music video. Now the film is ready and we are super happy to show it to the world. Anni Ólafsdóttir is the main director, I am producer and co-director.
Director Anni Ólafsdóttir has long been fascinated by the term Tarantism: “To overcome melancholy with the uncontrollable urge to dance.” Marketa had already spoken to two dancers, Ale a gaga dancer from Paraguay and Yannier a classical ballet dancer born in Cuba, living in Iceland. Anni had a favourite contemporary dancer from Latvia, Klāvs Liepiņš that added the third element of dance and movement art to the piece. Each dancer created his own response to the song and then they rehearsed together to synchronise their emotions and know each others movements. The song is an emotional journey almost 15 minutes, so the challenge is to make a short film, that keeps the arch of emotion, loss, love, and hope so the audience looses track of time. The story is open for anyone to interpret in his own way and Markéta’s text gives some guidance as well. We have elements of religion and grace, elements of despair, of being lonely among others, elements of water, symbols of the steps of grief and some symbols of hope. The characters are stuck in certain spaces but the movements show us that despite everything, hardship and grief does pass. Just like a dancer turns, the world keeps on turning and life continues and makes room for your next steps. This take on tarantism: to overcome melancholy through an uncontrollable urge to dance – will hopefully reach those that need it – inspire, maybe help and heal.
You can see our documentary films by clicking here: Apausalypse and the Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole:
Credit list for Among the Living:
Director: Anni Ólafsdóttir
Co-director: Andri Snær Magnason
Producer: Andri Snær Magnason
Producers on set: Hanna Björk Valsdóttir & Sturla Míó Þórisson
Executive Producers: Markéta Irglová & Sturla Míó Þórisson
Performers Dancers: Ale Jara, Yannier Oviedo, Klavs Liepins
Singer: Markéta Irglová
Church Organ: Björn Steinar Sólbergsson
1st Violin: Una Sveinbjarnadóttir 2nd Violin: Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir Viola: Þórunn Ósk Marínósdóttir Cello: Sigurður Gunnarsson
Crew Director of Photography: Anton Smári Gunnarsson
Focus Pullers: Hjálmar Þór Hjálmarsson Róbert Magnússon 2nd AC : Rúnar Vilberg Hjaltason
DIT: Eva Lind Höskuldsdóttir Gaffer: Halldór Kristinsson Best Boy: Bjarki Heimisson
Key Grip: Tómas Freyr Jóhannsson
Speciality Rig & Drone: Gunnar Steinn
Editors: Anni Ólafsdóttir Eva Lind Höskuldsdóttir Color Grading: Bjarki Guðjónsson at Trickshot Production Designers: Dröfn Ösp Snorradóttir Johnny Rozas
Costume Designer: Ellen Loftsdóttir
Costume Assistant: Arna Engilbertsdóttir
Make-Up Artist: Flora Buenano
Graphic Design: Helsinki Studio
Music Written by: Markéta Irglová
Produced by: Sturla Mio Thorisson
Performed by: Markéta Irglová Siggi String Quartet Aida Shahghasemi
Recorded, mixed & mastered by: Sturla Mio Thorisson at Masterkey Studios 2021
Extras: Guðmundur Eiríksson Elín Guðmundsdóttir Einar Ólafsson Guðrún Helga Jónasdóttir Anna María Bogadóttir Gunnlaugur Friðriksson
Special Thanks: Kukl Trickshot Hótel Saga Ingibjörg Ólafsdóttir Birgir Örn Brynjólfsson Kiley Rene Larson Sigtryggur Ari Jóhannesson Hrönn Egilsdóttir Sigríður Hjálmarsdóttir Hallgrímskirkja Hrafnkell Sigurðsson Ámundi Sigurðsson Pajonka Swimslow Spuutnik Vilborg Árný Valgarðsdóttir Berglind Jóhannesdóttir Šárka Veronika Cat Gundry-Beck Freyr Karel Branolte Sigurður Þór Helgason DJI Iceland
September 7, 2021
TED Bookclub starts with “On Time and Water” by Andri Snær Magnason – Seeking a New Climate Semantics
TED MEMBERS BOOK CLUB INAUGURAL MEETING –
The inaugural (virtual) meeting of the TED Members Book Club will take place iWednesday 8 September (12noon New York, 5pm London, 6pm Europe, 9:30pm Mumbai) and is open to TED Members. (Becoming a member is easy: https://www.ted.com/membership
Bruno Guissani TED global curator will be hosting the event: “We will be discussing “On Time and Water“, an important book by one of global literature’s most indispensable contemporary voices, Iceland’s Andri Magnason. On Time and Water is a hopeful text – draws on science, family history and even mythology to explore a new climate semantics, one that would allow us to confront the (expanding) scale of the climate crisis without our comprehension of it being overwhelmed. Because right now, overwhelmed it is. We know the facts (see for instance this previous post: https://lnkd.in/dYzG8zkA) but the prevailing language that is associated with them describes changes so fundamental that they challenge the very foundations of our understanding of reality.
“We are accustomed to letting words like “global warming” pass by us while we respond to far less significant words. If we could perceive in granular details what the words “global warming” [or “ocean acidification” or “melting glaciers” or “rising seas” or “biodiversity collapse”] contain we should feel terror”, Magnason writes. “Anyone who understands what’s at stake would not prioritise anything else”, and yet “we read the news and watch documentaries, but for some reason we keep to our daily routines.” In other words, we know what each word says in a dictionary sense, but we don’t really understand their deep underlying meaning. The scale of the climate crisis is asking us in a way to leapfrog the current descriptive language (and associated power system) and find a new framing and a deeper kind of knowing. That’s what Magnason attempts in “On Time and Water”.
The TED Members Book Club meeting around his book is scheduled for Wednesday 8 September (12noon New York, 5pm London, 6pm Europe, 9:30pm Mumbai) and is open to TED Members.
Further meetings will be around Kate Raworth’s “Doughnut Economics” (17 November) and Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Ministry for the Future” (19 January).
September 5, 2021
September events, TED bookclub – Italy tour, readings in Spain, Sweden and Hungary, film premier and festivals in Belgrad and Poland
September 3rd, Venice
Biennale of Architecture.Opening ceremony of the Danish Pavillion. Panel discussion moderated by Marianne Krogh, curator of the Danish Pavilion
Andri Snær Magnason, writer and documentary film director
Elke Krasny, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
Nina Kovsted Helk, philanthropy director, Realdania
Erik Frandsen, partner, Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
Lene Tranberg, partner and co-founder, Lundgaard & Tranberg Architect
September 3rd Poland:
Docs Against Gravity
Screening of The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole – a Bipolar Musical Documentary With Elephants.
Debate: How to cope with extreme emotions and bipolar disorder following the screening of the film. Partner: Można Zwariować Foundation.
September 4th Chiasso festival
https://chiassoletteraria.ch/eventi/andri-snaer-magnason/
September 5th Bellanzona
12:00 – 14:00 meeting with young group from Fridays for the Future Switzerland. Bellinzona in piazza Governo
September 6th Milano
Panel with the Italian writer Fabio Deotto, a novelist and environmental activist, Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen and the journalist Paolo Armelli as moderator. The importance of stories to communicate climate change.
https://iperborea.com/news/817/
https://www.facebook.com/events/268135541348118?ref=newsfeed
September 8th: TED BOOKCLUB
Online for TED Members Welcome to TED Book Club! Our first book On Time and Water by Andri Snaer Magnason is a vivid exploration of the reality of climate change. Connect with fellow Members to discuss the overarching themes, challenges, possible steps forward and compelling questions raised in the book.
SEEKING A NEW CLIMATE SEMANTICS
(TED MEMBERS BOOK CLUB INAUGURAL MEETING)
The inaugural (virtual) meeting of the TED Members Book Club will take place in a week. I will be hosting it and we will be discussing “On Time and Water”, an important book by one of global literature’s most indispensable contemporary voices, Iceland’s Andri Magnason.
The book – a hopeful text – draws on science, family history and even mythology to explore a new climate semantics, one that would allow us to confront the (expanding) scale of the climate crisis without our comprehension of it being overwhelmed. Because right now, overwhelmed it is. We know the facts (see for instance this previous post: https://lnkd.in/dYzG8zkA) but the prevailing language that is associated with them describes changes so fundamental that they challenge the very foundations of our understanding of reality.
“We are accustomed to letting words like “global warming” pass by us while we respond to far less significant words. If we could perceive in granular details what the words “global warming” [or “ocean acidification” or “melting glaciers” or “rising seas” or “biodiversity collapse”] contain we should feel terror”, Magnason writes. “Anyone who understands what’s at stake would not prioritise anything else”, and yet “we read the news and watch documentaries, but for some reason we keep to our daily routines.” In other words, we know what each word says in a dictionary sense, but we don’t really understand their deep underlying meaning. The scale of the climate crisis is asking us in a way to leapfrog the current descriptive language (and associated power system) and find a new framing and a deeper kind of knowing. That’s what Magnason attempts in “On Time and Water”.
The TED Members Book Club meeting around his book is scheduled for Wednesday 8 September (12noon New York, 5pm London, 6pm Europe, 9:30pm Mumbai) and is open to TED Members. (Becoming a member is easy: https://lnkd.in/d9aXddt)
Further meetings will be around Kate Raworth’s “Doughnut Economics” (17 November) and Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Ministry for the Future” (19 January).
September 8th – Firenze – event with Folco Terzani
https://www.facebook.com/events/540995583822780?ref=newsfeed
September 9th – International Online Premier of Apausalypse,
by Andri Snær Magnason and Anni Ólafsdóttir via Emergence Magazine.
Register online here: https://emergencemagazine.org/event/apausalypse-online-premiere/
September 10th Belgrad
Beldocs – Belgrad – Serbian Premier of The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole – Beldocs. (Digitally attending)
https://www.kcb.org.rs/en-us/2021/09/23061/
September 12th Mantova Festival Litteratura
https://www.festivaletteratura.it/it/2021/eventi/156-dirti-natura-3336
September 14th Bologna –
Opening talk for FEDORA. The event is organized by the FEDORA partnership and is hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy “A. Righi” of the University of Bologna (Italy) as part of the program of storytelling in science titled “Officina di Narrazione della Scienza” (Laboratory for the Narrative of Science). The event will be held in English. The participation is free of charge after registering at this link. The event can be attended either remotely or face-to-face (Aula Magna, Department of Physics and Astronomy “A. Righi”, Via Irnerio 46, Bologna
4.30-6.30 pm CEST
https://www.fedora-project.eu/save-the-date-fedora-launches-event-with-writer-andri-snaer-magnason/
September 16th Literature House Göteborg – Sweden
https://goteborgslitteraturhus.se/event/internationellt-forfattarbesok-andri-snaer-magnason-island/
September 17th Högenas literatur festival
http://hsbookfest.se/medverkande/andri-snaer-magnason-hoppfull-skildring-av-klimatkrisen/
September 19th Hey Festival Segovia, Spain
September 22nd Budapest – Hungary –
Hungarian launch of On Time and Water.
June 1, 2021
Talking at the P4G Summit in Korea
I had the honour to address the P4G Summit in Korea following the opening remarks of Environment Minister Han Jeong-ae. There are 12 countries in the P4G: Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Vietnam and Korea. It partners with five organizations, including the Global Green Growth Institution, and over 240 global businesses and civic groups. South Korea has declared goals to meet goals of Carbon neutrality before 2050. More info here from Korea Joongang Daily:
P4G starts Sunday, brings together world leaders to tackle climate change
“Carbon neutrality is the most important issue for the global community, and this is something we need to address in an urgent manner,” said Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae in a special session on carbon neutrality. “As major countries declared carbon neutrality, the Korean government announced the same ambition at the end of last year to join this effort.”
She added that cutting emissions “requires a grand transformation of our entire society,” stressing local governments’ role in a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, ambitious technological innovations and a fundamental change in industrial structures in order to “save energy and resources in all places including homes and offices and put into practice ecofriendly lifestyles.”The Environment Ministry will host a session on “Carbon-Neutral Water Management for Climate Resilience” scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, addressing the issue of water security amid the recent frequency of water-related disasters such as flooding and droughts.
Environment Minister Han will provide welcoming remarks, and will be followed by Netherlands’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag, Huh Jae-yeong, co-chairman of Korea’s National Water Commission, and Iceland writer Andri Snaer Magnason.
Here is an article in Korean media.
May 16, 2021
Apausalypse – World Premier at Stockfish Film Festival
Apausalypse is a new documentary from directors Anni Ólafsdóttir and Andri Snær Magnason premiers at the Stockfish Film Festival the 21st of May.
Art always finds a way, even when everything has been put on pause. We are taken on a journey with dancers, musicians, and philosophers across Iceland during the lockdown and explore the question: What is the meaning of the great stop, the Apausalypse?
Andri Snær Magnason and Anni Ólafsdóttir also co-directed the documentary The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole – recently premiered at CPH:DOX.
For more information about Apausalypse – check out this article in Emergence Magazine: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/apausalypse-dispatch-from-iceland/
May 8, 2021
Third Pole at CPH:DOX
“An absolutely beautiful, moving, and musical piece.”
“An absolutely beautiful, moving, and musical piece from directors Andri Magnason and Anní Ólafsdóttir which focuses on mental health, particularly bipolar disorder. We spoke with the directors about this important film and how it came to be made.”
