Polite People

Polite People (Kurteist Fólk)
Love, Sweat and Sweet Lambs 2011, Icelandic, Iceland, Drama/Comedy Directed by Olaf de Fleur Screening Contact: 89 Fifth Avenue, Suite 806, New York, NY 10003 USA Office: +1.718.312.8210 Fax: +1.718.362.4865 Email: [email protected] Web: www.visitfilms.com
Production company: Poppoli Pictures
Sales and distribution: Poppoli Pictures
Screenings: Visit Films
Website: www.poppoli.com
Length: 90 min
Screening format: HD
Production format: HD
Film gauge/aspect ratio: 2:35
Premier date and year: March 31st 2011
SYNOPSIS
A desperate city slicker engineer lies his way into a small farming community,
pretending to know how to safe them by re-financing their slaughter house unaware
that he is entering a turmoil of small-town politics and general misbehaving.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
: DIRECTOR OLAF DE FLEUR
Polite People tells a universal story of a modern man of superficial values, a city
slicker who gets thrown into a new situation which creates an opportunity of finding
a new meaning.
When my main character, Larus, finds himself divorced and out of a job at the same
time, he enters a new world in of a tiny town that represents a certain microcosmos
of the world. Once there, he has the most impossible task ahead of getting the local
slaughterhouse up and running again, but for that to happen he has to get the
people of Budardalur in synch with himself and the idea. The people in the valley
receive him differently, some are modern people others sceptical old school farmers
and everything in between. This is a comedy of modern people who know little about
what is best for them.
On a personal note, I grew up in Budardalur and I have long wanted to visit my old
town again, mingle with the people and work with them. I wanted to bring a fun and
interesting project to the locals and involve them on different levels of the
production, whether hiring them as extras or as members of the crew. I am very
fond of the idea of using real life persons in small parts, people who are not used to
acting, as I feel it creates a unique blend of authenticity. I feel very fortunate to
have been given the oportunity to bring a project to life in the little town that gave
me a valuable perspective for my future years on this earth. Furthermore, this was a
story that I desired to tell, the story of Larus the looser, but in addition I was able to
highlight many of the problems in our society, such as corruption, in a satirical light.
CAST & CREW
Main cast:
Stefan Karl Stefansson
Eggert Thorleifsson
Hilmir Snaer Gudnason
Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir
Benedikt Erlingsson
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jonsdottir
Harpa Arnardottir
Director:
Olaf de Fleur
Producers:
Kristin Andrea Thordardottir
Johann G. Johannsson
Gudni Pall Saemundsson
Olaf de Fleur
Scriptwriter:
Olaf de Fleur & Hrafnkell Stefansson
Cinematographer:
Bjarni Felix Bjarnason
Editor:
Olaf de Fleur
Sigurdur Eythorsson
Sigurbjorg Jonsdottir
Benedikt Johannesson
DIRECTOR
Olaf de Fleur
BIO / AWARDS
Olaf de Fleur Johannesson (director, producer) was born in 1975 in Budardalur, a
small town in Iceland, and has been a dedicated filmmaker for over a decade. He
founded his own independent production company, Poppoli Pictures, in 2003.
Poppoli’s first production Shining Star, won him the Best Documentary Feature award
at the Icelandic Film Awards in 2004, and he won the award again in 2005 for the
feature documentary Africa United. Olaf was selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus
in two consequtive years, in 2003 and 2004. Olaf wrote and directed his first feature
film The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela which won him the Teddy award for
Best Feature at the Berlinale in 2008.
During post-production on Queen Raquela Olaf shot his second feature film in Iceland
in 2007 called Higher Force. The two features both premiered in 2008. Queen
Raquela is still traveling the festival circuit and has won numerous awards
internationally. The Higher Force premiered internationally at the AFI Film Festival in
November 2008. In 2008 Olaf wrote and directed webseries, called Circledrawers,
that premiered internationally in May 2009 online worldwide. Currently Olaf and his
producer Kristin Andrea have three projects in due for release in 2011, one
documentary called Adequate Beings and two fiction features City State and Polite
People
DIRECTOR OLAF DE FLEUR - AWARDS:
"Best Documentary" - Icelandic Fiim Awards 2004
"Best Documentary" - Icelandic Fiim Awards 2005
"Best Film" Teddy Awards Berlin Film Festival 2008
"Showtime Vanguard Award" 2008
"Best Film" New York LGBT Film Festival 2008
"Best Film" Cinemanila Grand Jury Prize 2008
"Contribution to cinema language" Exit Festival, Serbia 2008
PRODUCER
Kristin Andrea Thordardottir
BIO
Kristin studied International Business (B.Sc. 2004) and Marketing Communications
Management (M.Sc. 2006) at Copenhagen Business School. She joined Poppoli
Pictures at the start of 2007 and has worked with director and founder Olaf de Fleur
ever since on his productions and developments as producer and head of production.
She also founded her own small production company to produce her own
independent and commercial projects.
City State (feature in post production) Poppoli Pictures (2011)
Adequate Beings (documentary in post production) Poppoli Pictures (2011)
Polite People (feature in post production) Poppoli Pictures (2011)
Undying Love (short in post production) Poppoli Pictures (2011)
Brú til borgar (documentary in post production) Jadar Pictures (2011)
Circledrawers (webisodes) Poppoli Pictures (2009)
The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela (feature) Poppoli Pictures (2008)
Higher Force (feature) Poppoli Pictures (2008)