Hlemmur documentary returns to cinema with a 2K presentation

Ólafur Sveinsson’s 2002 documentary Hlemmur will screen at Bíó Paradís, a cinema, on Sunday in a 2K version, the filmmaker told mbl.is. The film follows men who spent time at Hlemmur, then the main transit interchange for the capital region.

Sveinsson said the film had been converted from standard quality to 2K. He recently watched it with people receiving treatment at Hlaðgerðarkot while working on a film about Samhjálp. Some viewers told him the documentary had deeply affected them; others said they knew it by heart or had watched it repeatedly.

He believes the film resonated because it showed a part of society that was in plain sight but often went unseen. It also depicts what life on the street is like, he said. Most importantly, he said, he earned the trust of the people in the film, which shows their pain in a way he described as both harsh and beautiful.

Hlemmur has been redeveloped in recent years and now houses one of the city centre’s food halls. The former interchange’s regulars have had to find other places to spend time, including Austurvöllur.

Sveinsson’s path to making Hlemmur began in Berlin, where he studied filmmaking. His planned graduation film about five German actresses from different generations stalled. While living near the German presidential palace, he noticed police officers guarding the president talking with street-based sex workers at a 24-hour petrol station. That observation led him to make Nonstop, about the station and the people who came there at night.