Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir
The first feature by editor Catherine Legault, SISTERS: DREAM & VARIATIONS invites us to discover the creative and personal worlds of two distinctive Montreal artists. Tyr and Jasa have Icelandic roots, and they’ve always been artists at heart. Having become a musician and an interdisciplinary artist respectively, they have developed artistic practices that draw on their colourful imaginations and family roots, including the use of audio recordings of their Icelandic great-grandmother. In a symbiotic relationship with its protagonists’ creativity, the film includes animations and performances in order to do justice to Tyr and Jasa’s artistic approach and particular identity, deftly combining reality and dreams.
In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the country’s best and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi’s sheep, the entire valley comes under threat. The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. But Gummi and Kiddi don’t give up so easily – and each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits.
