Two Garðabær documentaries bring the town’s past back to life

Two documentaries about Garðabær, made in 1974 and 1993, will be screened at the Garðabær Music School on Sunday evening. The screening is organised by the Garðabær History Society and will be followed by a panel discussion, mbl.is reports.

Hrannar Bragi Eyjólfsson, a Garðabær town councillor and chair of the society, said he found the films on VHS tapes at a library and had them digitised. The screening begins at 8 p.m. as part of Garðabíó, an informal cinema event.

The 1974 film, titled Garðahreppur 1974, was made for the 1,100th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland. It captures a period of rapid growth in Garðahreppur, which had 3,660 residents at the time. Three large buildings were under construction: the Ásgarður sports hall, a building later used by Garðaskóli school, and the Kirkjuhvoll parish centre.

The Silfurtún neighbourhood was mostly built by then, while construction was under way in Flatir, Arnarnes and other neighbourhoods. Thirty-five houses known as Viðlagasjóðshús stood where Búðir is now. Garðahreppur had taken in many people from Vestmannaeyjar who fled the 1973 volcanic eruption.

Garðahreppur became Garðabær and received town status on January 1, 1976. Hrannar described the 1974 film as a time capsule of the town as it was 52 years ago. Kvik sf. produced it, with filmmaker and Garðabær resident Ásgeir Long leading the project.

Myndbær hf. produced the 1993 film, Garðabær – bær í blóma, with a script by Sigrún H. Hafstein. Inga Lind Karlsdóttir will lead the discussion after the films.