Hallgrímur Helgason

He was born on the 18th of February 1959, in Reykjavik. In the years 1979–1980, he studied at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (1981–1982). He has held many individual exhibitions, both in his country and abroad (in Paris, Malmö and Boston, among others). He has written several novels, plays and a poetry collection. He debuted with a novel entitled Hella in 1990. His most famous novel, 101 Reykjavik, released in 1996, was nominated for the prestigious Nordic Council’s Literary Award three years later. It served as a basis for a film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, whose world premiere took place in June of 2000, while in Poland the film was released in October of 2001. Hallgrímur Helgason is also a publicist and a translator. He used to perform as a comedian. On 27th October Szymon Kloska will talk with Hallgrímur Helgason about his most famous novel Reykjavik 101.