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MetFilm School to welcome rising Icelandic Filmmaking duo this October

By Cassio

11 June 2015

This October we will be welcoming two talented visual creators to MetFilm School, 19-year-old twins Jakob & Jonas Þórhallsson. The creative duo are from Iceland, and have built an impressive portfolio over the last five years and we are proud to have them enrolling on our two-year BA Practical Filmmaking course (+ Cinematography specialism) this October. We sat down with both for a catch up last week to discuss their filmmaking journey and their upcoming re-location to London.

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Jakob shooting on set

Much of the duo’s success stems from one crucial attribute: ambition. Their first experience of filmmaking came about after being given an assignment in junior high with the challenge to ‘express a story within a medium of your choice’. The pair settled upon making a Danish short film, which over the proceeding three months turned into a 40 minute piece that even included some visual and special effects: an undeniably bold approach for beginners.

Jakob and Jonas enjoyed the experience so much they quickly started up their own YouTube website featuring experimental videos, providing them a platform to continually develop their skillset using new equipment and testing different techniques. Soon enough they joined a four-year course at The Commercial College of Iceland, an institution that has a noteworthy demand for video content (particularly music videos).

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Jonas shooting on set

This stint of study was a prolific period, with the twosome participating in an extra-curricular creative collective called ‘The Cream’, making three 30-minute show episodes and four music videos in one year. Speaking about this busy time, Jakob explains that it was through this process that they “really knew that this was what we wanted to do in the future.

Fast-forward to the present and the filmmakers are riding a wave of exciting success having recently created the music video for Iceland’s 2015 Eurovision entry – a remarkable feat considering their young age. The brothers speak proudly of the achievement and appreciative of the experience gained from working on a project of such calibre. Expanding, Jakob says “it’s probably the biggest budget we’ve worked on and it’s really good to work on a large set and have other people to collaborate with.”

The video, which can be seen at the bottom of this blog, reflects their eye for atmospheric lighting and further boasts the pay-offs of hard work and dedication. In addition to the creation of their own material, the twins have also made progress in learning the industry from the backend, proving a platform for other artists through running their own production company, IRIS Films.

With the help of past ‘Cream’ collaborator Andri Páll Alfreðsson, the trio aims to develop projects on modest budgets and, as Jakob explains, help “artists out there that are trying to make it.” With Iceland being relatively advanced in its technology, IRIS Films has benefited the new generation of young people who are enthusiastic about finding a creative video outlet.

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IRIS Films team photo: Jakob (left), Andri (centre) & Jonas (right)

With the upcoming transition to London from Iceland, Jakob and Jonas have a real eagerness to embrace the advantages of living in a multi-cultural environment and to become “immersed in the industry”. They are equally appreciative and excited to start at Met Film School, highlighting the “beneficial” Bachelors degree, and the opportunity to develop further knowledge of the wider “industry standard.” Perhaps the most significant part of our conversation was, despite their prior experience, their enthusiasm for expanding upon the fundamentals of filmmaking;

At the end of our two-year course we’ll hopefully be clear of what we want to do. We want to learn a lot about ourselves!

Jakob & Jonah

It’s a refreshingly wise mentality to have and we are entirely confident that their period of study will be a beneficial, exciting and busy one. Their open-mindedness will suit what MetFilm School offers to a tee, and hopefully both Jakob and Jonas will leave prepared for their next steps. For any other young people out there thinking about following in the duo’s footsteps, the moral they should take away is that a little ambition sure does go a long way.

Watch the music video Jakob and Jonas created for Iceland’s 2015 Eurovision entry!