Fire on Heimaey

During the night of January 23rd 1973, a volcanic eruption broke out on Heimaey the biggest of the Westman Islands. A 1.6 km long fissure then opened up only 200 m SE of Iceland's most important fishing centre, the town of Westman Islands. Within a few hours about 5.000 people had been successfully evacuated. The film describes the eruption from beginning to end, showing the measures taken against the devastating lavaflow and tephra fall.

Crew

Directed by

Ósvaldur Knudsen, Vilhjálmur Knudsen
Screenplay

Ósvaldur Knudsen, Vilhjálmur Knudsen
Director of Photography

Ósvaldur Knudsen, Vilhjálmur Knudsen
Editor

Ósvaldur Knudsen, Vilhjálmur Knudsen

About the film

Type

Documentary
Length

28 min.
Language

Icelandic
Original Title

Eldur í Heimaey
International Title

Fire on Heimaey
Production Year

1974
Production Countries

Iceland
IMDB

Fire on Heimaey
Icelandic Film Centre Grant

No
Production Format

16mm
Color

Yes

Company Credits

Production Company

VÓK-film

Festivals

1975
Mountaineering and Exploration Film Festival - Award: The Golden Neptune
1975
London Film Festival
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International Short Film Festival Cracow - Award: Grand Prix. Golden Dragon.
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International Filmweek, Brussel - Award: Best educational film
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Thessaloniki Film Festival
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Popoli Festival
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Nyon Film Festival
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Ekofilm Festival
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International Scientific Film Festival Paris
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Melbourne Film Festival