Further Information

Islandia a short film based on a true story.

Synopsis:
Brynja goes on a vacation when a employee of the hotel she stays in breaks into her room in the middle of the night. Brynja fights for her life and her own rights, but it will have unpredictable consequences.

The film is written and directed by Eydís Eir Brynju-Björnsdóttir, and the story is based on her own experience.

Islandia characters are based on real women Eydís met in prison in Turkey, However, we shot the film in Spain (Segovia), where we found an ideal location, an old prison which we used as a big filmset.
The reason for that is because Eydís can never again step foot inside of Turkish boarder again.

"I went to the EMDR Psychotherapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)that I connect with the story in a creative way. In EMDR you travel from the left and right side of the brain or intellectual and emotional brain. Usually with some kind of script at hand, you go from past, present and the future. The film was written during this psychiatric treatment, I also read my diaries and that is when I decide to write the film” says Eydís.

The film received great recognition at the Austin Film Festival in October and we want to distribute the film to many film festivals around the world.

We have worked hard to create this film and of course we want to bring it to the audience.

Applying for film festivals costs money. Each festival costs between $ 25 -$100. In addition we need to produce marketing material, such as posters, business cards, and other material requested by film festivals.

That's why we decided to create this fundraiser!

Also its a great way to present the film, achieve the goal of distribution and promote a charity project that is both close to our heart and is socially urgent.

That project is Elfusjóður.

Part of the funding will go to Elfusjóður that helps survivors of violence to seek their rights (e.g domestic violence, sexual abuse)

Sigrún Jóhannsdóttir District Court Attorney has specialised in civil liability and violence. She has had a high of two hundred cases and has great experience. Elfusjóður is a project that Sigrun founded. The main goal of the Fund is to loan survivors for evaluation, which is the basis of compensating for the damage caused by the physical (sexual / sexual) damage.

When an individual has survived through serious violence such as sexual abuse, domestic violence or street violence, it has inconsiderable psychological damage and financial loss for the survivor. Often they are unable to work, for long or short periods, in addition costs for medical services, physiotherapy, psychiatric treatment, etc. is quick to accumulate.

It can prove to be difficult for victims to retrieve their rights directly for their loss and therefore the state has established a so-called Bótasjóð. The compensation fund has the objective of acting as an intermediary between the victim and the perpetrator. In this way, victims of violence can apply for the benefits to a compensation fund, which then handles them against a perpetrator ie. subject to certain conditions. In order for survivors of the crime to be able to apply this right, ie. for full benefit, they must undergo a medical assessment. This is done so that the damage can be estimated based on the rules of damages so that the victim does not profit or lose the damage

This is a major correction for victims of crime, however, the survivors themselves have to pay for the medical assessment amounting to several hundred thousand krónur. which is later paid by a Bótasjóður fund, ie. if the doctors find that financial loss has been caused by violence.As a Consequence survivors can not apply this right, they burn out on time and end up having to bear all the damage themselves. This is no less harmful to the survivor and his community, but also society itself.

Grants are in the form of a loan that is reimbursed, if the result of the evaluation is financial loss. Otherwise, the loan will be a financial support.
The Fund will thus have the capacity to assist a large number of victims in the event of their loss being fully compensated.

More about the projects can be found on the websites.

www.islandiafilm.com
www.facebook.com/islandiafilm

www.facebook.com/elfusjodur