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Listen to the podcast on Inkandescent Radio Oct. 24, 1975: The Day Iceland Stood Still

50 years ago, 90% of Iceland’s women went on strike. Do not miss this revolutionary film about what happens when women unite: “The Day Iceland Stood Still”
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Acclaimed Icelandic filmmaker Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir brings women to the movies

Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir has produced several films on the Icelandic women’s movement, including Women in Red Stockings and The Kitchen Sink Revolution, the latter of which won the Edda Award.

She directed Her Age, a series of 52 shorts celebrating Icelandic women’s history, and her latest project, the 5-part series People Like That, chronicles the 40-year struggle for gay rights in Iceland. Her film The Vasulka Effect, about video art pioneers Woody and Steina Vasulka, received multiple awards, including Best Portrait at the International Festival of Films in Canada.

In 2024, Iceland’s President honored her with the Falcon award—the “Knight’s Cross”—in recognition of her work raising awareness in the field of equality.

On her newest film, The Day Iceland Stood Still, Hrafnhildur explains: 

Of course, it is always a win when we simply finish a film and it travels the world. As a filmmaker this means a lot that the film actually resonates with our audiences and is inspiring people to take action. This is why we make films.

In regard to my personal evolution, I can say this: In 1975, when I was 11years old, I got the idea from attending the Strike that day that everything would be “fixed”, that men and women would be equal from now on, and I would have the same opportunities as boys and men. Of course, it took a while, and the change is still in progress, but in retrospect, it gave me shoulders to stand on.

If that was true, I have no idea, but that is how I lived my life, and I have lived my life to the fullest, surely doing what I love, making films. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had not had that idea in my head, if the strike had not happened. Now, of course, my whole life has been a struggle to survive as a filmmaker, as an artist, but here I am, and this has been my career, and I think that is a win.

What I hope for the future generations of women and men in Iceland, and around the world, is that simply they would have the same opportunities and be equally compensated for their work. We are in the position of privilege in Iceland, we have gotten far, yet we are still fighting for equality, and that struggle will probably never be over.  Unfortunately,  the rest of the world has a long way to go. I know it is daunting to be behind, but we know from experience in Iceland that things can change, and they will. Make men your allies, create new thoughts ofy, and allow your an equal societself to dream of a better future.

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