Experiencing Interruptions?

Demonstration

In Demonstration, the lynx is understood to be an elusive and mysterious creature and a symbol of the unravelling of hidden truths and clairvoyance. The film is an investigation into
the ambiguous life of a female character who artificially
inseminates herself and then dies. She leaves behind a fragmented conceptual documentary about lynxes in captivity and their mystical qualities in relation to femininity. The narrative is experienced through the mother’s perspective, as she faces the ghost of her daughter. Flashbacks from her own past, as a young mother, and the evidence of her daughter’s intentions affect her.

  • Elísabet Birta Sveinsdóttir
    Director
  • Elísabet Birta Sveinsdóttir
    Writer
  • Elísabet Birta Sveinsdóttir
    Producer
  • Auður Elísabet Guðmundsdóttir
    Key Cast
    "Auður/mother"
  • Elísabet Birta Sveinsdóttir
    Key Cast
    "daughter"
  • Heimir Gestur Valdimarsson
    Key Cast
    "Detective Þröstur"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, detective, artistfilm, mystery, Documentary, experimental
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 8, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Iceland
  • Country of Filming:
    Iceland
  • Language:
    English, Icelandic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 16mm, BETA
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Elísabet Birta Sveinsdóttir

Elisabet Birta (born 1991 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic artist and filmmaker.

She studied Contemporary Dance and Fine Art at Iceland Academy of the Arts and Malmö Art Academy, Sweden. Apart from Iceland Angel has exhibited work in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Cyprus and Latvia. Her performances have been featured at Reykjavík Dance Festival, S.M.A.K., Ghent. Her films have been screened at a few festivals in Europe, the US and Canada. Including her short film The Sacred Wood, 1882 (2014) was a finalist in a competition for experimental shorts at the Arctic Heat Film Festival, Finland.

Her alluring and intimate work often reflects on femininities and animality, film and art history and visual culture.

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Director Statement

My work reflects on the nature of femininity and humanity within the contextual framework of humankind’s relationships with other species and notions of our common qualities. I take a performative approach, incorporating my body and drawing on my personal experiences for material. I work in a variety of mediums, with a main focus on performance and film. I consider the symbolic nature of filmmaking within a historical narrative, and the mixing of genres and familiar tropes. My practice also explores specific cultural influences and family heritage. Archetypes and influences from visual culture—from fairy tales to film—have shaped my identity and appear as remnants in my work. Critical and guilty at the same time, I participate in the world I help to create, using a seductive aesthetic to lure and delay the sting of critique.