Biggest selfie ever

“I want to be weird” (i. Ég vil vera skrítin) is one of the documentaries premiering at the Icelandic documentary festival Skjaldborg this weekend. The documentary follows British artist Kitty Von-Sometime who has lived in Iceland for nine years and is known for “The Weird Girls Project”, an ongoing beautiful, strange, unearthly and fairy tale like art film series that were created to empower the women who take part in them. She just finished her 25th project in collaboration with CREEP and Sia.

Kitty Von-Sometime is usually the one behind the camera but this time around she’s the subject. “I’m terrified”, when asked how she feels before the premiere of the documentary. “It’s not because I’m camera shy, I’m really not. It’s just that people who know who I am but don’t really know me are going to form an opinion of me.”

Adsf. Photo by Jeaneen Lund.
“I wanted to push women to do something they were not used to,” Kitty says about her Weird Girls Project. Photo by Jeaneen Lund.

The filming took four and a half-years and the concept changed quite a lot during that period of time. It started out as a documentation of The Weird Girls Project but in the end the filmmakers turned their attention to Kitty instead.

“It’s the biggest selfie ever,” she says laughing, “although it’s not really my film, but I’m happy with it. It does feel strange seeing yourself through the eyes of others, though of course I can’t really see me in the same way as the audience will see me. I will always know what’s going on behind the scenes,” Kitty says referring to the different periods of her life that she went through while the documentary was being filmed. “There were things going on in my personal life that the audience won’t be aware of, but I’ll always associate with that. And I admit that I feel vain when seeing unflattering shots of myself, but that’s just silly.”

And that opens the discussion of Kitty’s passion and the reason the documentary was made in the first place: The Weird Girls Project.

“I was just so fed up with women being bothered about the way they look and their lack of confidence,” Kitty says about what sparked the first Weird Girls project. “When I did the first one, it was just an experiment. The second was more of the format it is now and was done to the GusGus song ´I want to be a freak´ and it’s about steeping out of normal life. I wanted to push women to do something they were not used to.”

This experiment grew very quickly into something much bigger and now Kitty just finished her 25th video of The Weird Girls Project, most of them were done in Iceland but a few were commissioned work abroad.

“I’m terrified…Is not because I’m camera shy, I’m really not. It’s just that people who know who I am but don’t really know me are going to form an opinion of me.”

“It’s always such a struggle funding the project, and for the most part I pay for it myself and then my crew work for free, which I hate and I hope I’ll be able to repay them some day. A big part of the documentary is about that struggle.”

Money may be hard to come by for Kitty but the same is not said about women and there is even a waiting list filled with names of women that really want to work with Kitty and be a part of The Weird Girls Project.

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First sneak peak at the newest Weird Girls Project. Photo by Birta Rán Björgvinsdóttir.

“The women come to me and ask to take part.” They are most likely attracted to the empowerment and the aesthetics of the films, and who wouldn’t want to be in a film that brings out the uniqueness and beauty of the people in it. “I just spent the last day editing the behind the scenes footage from my last project and all of the women talk about a sense of massive power. Some of them had been freaking out the day before about what body part was showing, but everybody felt good, attractive, and confident. And when I put them all together they just lose their self-consciousness.”

Each film Kitty makes shows a group of beautiful girls in amazing costumes. Nothing new there, one might think, since there are beautiful girls in costumes in millions of videos and films. Except that is something quite different about The Weird Girls Projects since the women you see in the films are women you see everyday, at work, at school, out in the street and most importantly in the mirror and their beauty is not being portrayed in the way the media has gotten us used to. They might even be wearing rabbit heads or masks or nothing at all or spandex like in Kitty’s favourite film.

“That was the one we did at Þórsmörk, that was something magical about that one. Furthermore I love it when we shoot somewhere outside the city and we have to spend the night and the girls get to bond.”

Kitty’s latest project, her 25th one and her new favorite is a music video for a band called CREEP, the song was co-written by CREEP and Sia and Sia sings it.

“This new video really focuses on the message and it’s visually phenomenal.” Sia is one of the biggest music stars today so this must mean that Kitty will get a lot of attention which Kitty welcomes since she want’s to spread the message. “CREEP really wanted the message to get across because they support beauty in all shapes.”

Ég vil vera skrítin, or I Want to Be Weird, the story of Kitty Von-Sometime and The Weird Girls Project will be shown this Saturday, May the 23rd at Skjaldborg at 12.30.

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The Weird Girls Project: Beautiful, strange, unearthly. Photo left by Jeaneen Lund. The one on the right by Óskar Hallgrímsson.

Main photo: Kitty Von-Sometime, by Jeaneen Lund. Below trailer from I want to be weird, directed by Brynja Dögg Friðriksdóttir.

 

 

Á. Óskarsson
Á. Óskarsson

Á. Óskarsson offers a variety of products and services to sports centers, swimming pools, schools, kindergartens, and the general public. The company specializes in sport-related products, activity-focused games, and a wide range of solutions for sports facilities.

Á. Óskarsson has been involved in numerous big projects related to building sports facilities and has made it their benchmark to offer good quality products and equipment since the company was founded.

See links to social media in the upper left-hand corner

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Á. Óskarsson selur fjölbreytt vöruúrval fyrir íþróttahús, sundlaugar, skóla og leikskóla og einnig ýmsar vörur til einkaafnota. Fyrirtækið selur vörur til íþróttaiðkunnar og leikja ásamt því að bjóða upp á ýmsar lausnir fyrir íþróttamannvirki.

Á. Óskarsson hefur komið að fjölda stórra verkefna við byggingu íþróttamannvirkja og hefur frá stofnun kappkostað að bjóða vandaðar og endingargóðar vörur.

Tenglar á samfélagsmiðla eru í efra horninu vinstra megin.

Webpage/vefsetur

Blush

    Blush was founded in 2011 when it started selling high quality sex products. The goal from the beginning was to change the market and take the discussion about sex products to a higher level. Today Blush provides professional services in a pleasant environment that fulfills different needs, both for individuals and couples. Blush respects diversity and wants to set a good example in all of its messaging to target audiences. Sexual health and equality in sex is important and Blush wants to focus on those issues through education and open discussion. Blush works in a socially responsible manner for society, their customers and the environment.

    Check out Blush’s website: https://blush.is/

    Omnom Chocolate
    - award-winning chocolate maker

      Omnom Chocolate is an Icelandic craft chocolate company based in Reykjavík. We produce handcrafted chocolate from organic cacao beans sourced ethically and sustainably. We’ve developed direct relationships to create premium chocolate with fine flavor cacao beans.

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      In only a few short years, we’ve grown from our 50 sq. m. petrol station space and become an award-winning chocolate maker. Now, with our headquarters in 101 Reykjavík, our chocolate is sent out around Iceland and all over the world.

      At the end of the day, our goal is to make chocolate.

       

      Nasdaq

         

        Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence.

        With over 4,300 employees in 39 offices around the world, at Nasdaq we all contribute to the success of the company and its culture, and each one of us has the ability to make a difference. When it comes to our core mission and values, we embrace the role of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) as a fundamental driver of our corporate growth, workplace culture and market development. We strive to create a culture that embraces the power of different perspectives—a culture where people’s unique backgrounds and different experiences helps us fuel innovation and support our clients around the world.

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        Blue Lagoon
        - One of the 25 Wonders of the World

        Named by National Geographic as one of the 25 Wonders of the World, the Blue Lagoon is a shimmering expanse of warmth, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Its unique geothermal seawater
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        From its humble beginnings in the shadows of a geothermal power plant, Blue Lagoon has evolved into a world of wonder, now encompassing two hotels, three restaurants, three
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        Achieving harmony with the volcanic landscape, the lagoon and its surrounding architecture embody the unification of the man-made and the natural, and adhere to the highest principles of sustainability.

        The Blue Lagoon. A wonder of the world. A world of wonder.

        Landsbankinn
        - leading financial institution
        Landsbankinn

        Landsbankinn is a leading Icelandic financial institution. It offers a full range of financial services and is the market leader in the Icelandic financial service sector with the largest branch network.

        The present bank was established on 7 October 2008 but the history of its predecessor dates back to 1886. The bank is owned by the National Treasury of Iceland, which holds 98.2% of its share capital, and other shareholders who own 1.8%.

        Landsbankinn’s strategy is to provide comprehensive financial services that meet customer’s needs. It emphasizes providing exemplary service to customers, developing e-banking for their convenience, increasing the efficiency of support functions, modernizing its technology and ensuring effective utilization of its balance sheet.

        The bank’s vision is to be exemplary and its role is to be a trusted financial partner.

        Special emphasis is placed on promoting a performance-oriented culture in the bank. To follow up on the implementation of this strategy, the bank has defined key goals which are measured regularly to determine progress. These goals include, for example, customer satisfaction and loyalty, profitability, cost efficiency and the correlation between risk appetite and employee satisfaction.

        Landsbankinn wishes to lead the development of a sustainable society in Iceland by integrating economic, social and environmental concerns in its operations. The Bank aims to ensure that both its owners and society at large benefit from its activities.

        It intends to achieve this aim by building solid infrastructure and a strong team of 1.100 employees, by listening to its customers and by respecting and encouraging its employees to actively participate in their community. Landsbankinn was a founding member of Festa, a Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, and is a member of the UN Global Compact.

        Landsbankinn has been a proud sponsor of the Reykjavik Pride since it was first celebrated in Iceland.

        Dohop
        - get inspired
        Dohop

        Dohop allows people to find the cheapest flights available with just one click. Founded in Reykjavik in 2004, it is the only Icelandic company of its kind and quickly became the go-to tool for finding cheap flights among the locals. Dohop finds the best deals among hundreds of different airlines and online travel agencies, to make sure that the user is getting the cheapest price. Dohop also offers hotel and car rental search engines, so users can make all of their travel bookings from a single website.

        Dohop‘s specialty is finding so-called “self-connect” flight options, which can save travelers money by booking a ticket through two or more different airlines. The ability to look for these self-connect option is what sets Dohop apart from its competition, as it can save people hundreds of dollars on certain routes.

        More recently, Dohop has developed a unique product called Dohop Go!, which allows users to check for the cheapest available flights from their home airport. This tool is perfect for those who are looking for travel inspiration but are not willing to overpay for their flight ticket. Dohop Go! is now available in the Dohop Flights App, both for Android and iOS, along with its traditional flight, hotel, and car search engines. “

        VSÓ Ráðgjöf

           

          VSÓ Ráðgjöf er alhliða ráðgjafar- og verkfræðifyrirtæki sem leggur áherslu á trausta og faglega þjónustu sem tryggir viðskiptavinum hagkvæmustu lausnir hverju sinni, skilar raunverulegum árangri og stuðlar að samkeppnisforskoti.  Á skrifstofum VSÓ í Reykjavík og í Noregi starfar yfir 80 manna samhentur hópur verkfræðinga og annarra tæknimenntaðra starfsmanna.

          Macland
          - for all your Apple needs
          Macland

          From starting out as a proper startup with only a good idea and the need to change things, to becoming an established company with 6 employees. Starting from scratch and expanding organically has allowed us to love our expansion and take our customers on the ride with us.

          Macland is located at Laugavegur 23 (101, Downtown Reykjavik)
          For all your Apple needs. We are here.

          Ísey skyr
          - once tasted never forgotten

          Our Story
          Once upon a time, 1,100 years ago in fact, Nordic settlers began arriving in Iceland. They brought with them the skills and knowledge for producing skyr. As time passed, the know-how and recipe for this nutritious food slowly faded out elsewhere in the Nordic region. Luckily, the Icelandic skyr-making tradition continued.

          For centuries, Icelandic skyr formed a cornerstone of the national diet, helping to keep people strong in living conditions that were often harsh. On family farms countrywide, it was the women who nurtured this dairy and passing on both the recipe and the original Icelandic skyr cultures from mother to daughter.

          Ísey skyr builds on this remarkable legacy. It was some of those very same women, the recipients of their mothers’ expertise, who, around 90 years ago, taught Icelandic dairy scientists the art of skyr-making. The production process is more high-tech these days, and the quality standards more rigorous. However, the basic recipe and the use of original cultures to ferment the skimmed milk remain the same. Protein rich, fat-free, creamy and delicious – Ísey skyr is as relevant to consumers now as it was all those centuries ago.
          This is our secret and you are in on it

          You can read more about Ísey skyr on our website.

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