Backyard

Backyard is a realization and celebration of Reykjavík's creative spirit. It is the embodiment of what happens when a group of friends work hard at implementing and executing an idea, simply because they are having fun. It is pure joy on celluloid, featuring performances by múm, FM Belfast, Sin Fang, Hjaltalín, Retro Stefson, Borko & Reykjavík. This is what happened: after he had successfully organized a concert, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson found himself pretty amazed by the energy and velocity of his local scene. He thought: "I should throw a party like this in my own backyard." So he invited all his friends, including filmmaker Árni Sveinsson, and his favorite local bands to play shows in his small backyard over the course of a couple of days. The bands don't sound anything alike -- they are all doing their own thing. What they share is a friendship, a mentality and approach that surpasses any superficial differences. This is not so much what you would call a "scene." It's a group of friends: Borko kicking off the movie with his lo-fi majesty against Hjaltalín's intricate baroque; múm's delicate patchwork against Reykjavík!'s drunken artwork or FM Belfast's ungovernable will to party (which marks the grand finale.) It's all there, and it works together because the shared idea is not a sound, but a feeling, captured perfectly in Backyard.The DVD comes with a CD of original live music from Backyard.