"An unexpectedly satisfying documentary at Cannes was Screaming Masterpiece. ‘ Screaming’ offers great music as well as a lively and informative tour of the country that produced it."
Kenneth Turan - The Los Angeles Times

Icelandic music hit the international scene with The Sugarcubes in the eighties, followed by Björk’s solo takeover in the nineties, and in the last decade, several bands and solo acts have followed suit. Sigur Rós, Múm, Bang Gang, Mugison, Minus and Slowblow are a few of the more recent names and there are even more unpronounceable ones to look forward to in the coming years.
Screaming Masterpiece asks the question: why is the small Icelandic community so music mad? Is it the isolation or 'the long nights with nothing to do but drink” as is implied? With interviews from native artists Björk, Sigur Rós and Múm, to stories of the teenage band Nilfisk who end up opening for the Foo Fighters when they visit the island, Screaming Masterpiece is a captivating documentary about the contemporary music scene in this unique island culture.

Whatever the explanation, the Icelanders have fostered a music scene with a sound and attitude that is all their own, mixing ancient dirges and contemporary electronics, rock, pop and classical influences, to produce their own eclectic style. This film delivers the full force of the explosive Icelandic music scene with massive 5.1 Dolby sound and a fast-paced visual extravaganza that will leave you breathless. We follow the acts from their home in Iceland as they tour the world, from New York to Tokyo and beyond. The film was two years in the making and takes the audience behind the scenes of Reykjavik’s irrepressible musical underground. The creeping glaciers, barren highland sands and dark raging seas full of ghosts form a backdrop to the raw energy of the music.

"So what you have is screaming patriotism with heavy doses of adolescence," says Björk. "When my generation came along we started to ask ourselves what it meant to be Icelandic and how to be proud of it instead of feeling guilty all the time."

Screaming Masterpiece
OLI 703