Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) was founded in 2004 by a group of film enthusiasts and professionals with the goal of creating an annual international film festival in Reykjavik. The aim is to establish a major film event to enrich and enliven the local film culture, but moreover, to become an international attraction. We believe that by building up an innovative film festival in Reykjavik, our foreign guests will have a unique opportunity to participate in an exciting cultural event, as well as visiting a country renowned for its natural wonders and dynamic culture.

The festival organized its first event in Reykjavik in November 2004, initiating a discussion of the role and importance of film festivals in a local and international context. A festival program was organized in relation to the seminar, showing films by Icelandic film directors and professionals that work outside of Iceland.

The next RIFF was held September 29th – October 9th 2005, and was a giant leap forward in size and scale compared to the year before. Distinguished programmer Dimitri Eipides was brought on board to supervise the film selection, and he has worked with us since. Mr. Eipides has gained valuable experience as a programmer for the Toronto and Montreal Film Festivals as well as the Thessaloniki Festival in Greece.

In 2005, the foundation for our programme for the future was laid and a number of our current categories surfaced for the first time. A lifetime achievement award was given to Abbas Kiarostami and a retrospective of his works was screened along with an exhibition of his photographs. Our ‘Discovery of the Year’ award was given out for the first time to Cristi Puiu, director of the film The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. Attendance was good – over 13.000 people came to see the festival’s seventy films.

A year later, RIFF’s reputation had spread considerably and the number of international guests multiplied. Representatives from prestigious media such as Variety, The Guardian and IndieWIRE attended the festival and one journalist summed his experience up by calling RIFF “one of the best-kept secrets of the film festival circuit.” The programme had also grown to incorporate over one hundred films, a number of masterclasses, symposiums and panel discussions – and we even managed to cram a few concerts in too.

Grbavica by Jasmila Zbanic was the ‘Discovery of the Year’ and RIFF’s first time FIPRESCI jury awarded Red Road by Andrea Arnold. Aleksandr Sokurov was given the lifetime achievement award and Atom Egoyan accepted recognition for his creative excellency. Attendance soared to over 15.000 and the festival was considered an enormous success, both locally and internationally.

In 2007, RIFF was held for the fourth time.

Many filmmakers from all over the world visited Reykjavík for the festival. Among them Aki Kaurismäki who received the Reykjavík International Film Festival honorary awards, presented by the president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. Hungarian film Iska’s Journey by director Csaba Bollók was named Discovery of the Year at the Reykjavik International Film Festival 2007. Iska’s Journey received the Golden Puffin, awarded for the first time. Head of jury Hal Hartley gave out the award.

Peter Greenaway visited Reykjavík, held a lecture and was awarded for his life achievement as a filmmaker. International federation of film critics, FIPRESCI, awarded Danish debut feature The Art of Crying by Peter Schønau Fog which also received the Church of Iceland award, given out for the second time. “The film deals delicately with issues that often are kept quiet and presents them with respect, understanding and sympathy. The Art of Crying raises awareness of the fragility of life, moves the audience and calls for discussion and responses,” is stated in the jury’s motivation. The audience award went to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis biopic Control by Anton Corbijn and Amnesty International awarded El Ejido, The Law of Profit – a documentary on immigrants in South Spain.

RIFF 2007 was an immense local success, drawing over 20.000 people (approx. 7% of Iceland’s population) to the festival’s screenings, and filling 84% of available seats during the festival’s eleven days.

In 2008 RIFF will was held for the fifth time - bigger than ever!

Over 300 foreign guests visited the festival and well over 20.000 people saw the films that RIFF had to offer. The movie Tulpan received the Golden Puffin, RIFF's main award and was named Discovery of the Year. Home by Ursula Meier received the FIPRESCI award and Snijeg by Aida Begic from Bosnia-Herzegovenia received the Church of Iceland award. Venkovský ucitel by Bohdan Sláma from the Czech Repuplic received the Gay-friendly award given by Iceland's National Association of Gays and Lesbians. The Association also gave She's a Boy I Knew by Gwen Haworth from Canada a special recognition award. Electronica Reykjavik by Arnar Jónasson from Iceland was voted most popular by the attendees at RIFF.

The special events at RIFF were a huge success. Sound on Sight was a unique project where people were able to focus on the special bond and connection between music and film. A project called Minus 25 was uniquely designed for people under the age of 25 and included many mini-projects, f.e. a competition where youngsters wrote music for the movie The Crowd which was originally released in 1928. A short film competition for young students was held and even Iceland's kindergartens were able to participate in their own little project where kids made short films from digital photographs. A talent campus was held where young people from Europe and America were invited to meet in Reykjavik and see what the film industry had to offer on the other side of the globe! This is only a fraction of the special events RIFF had to offer in 2008.

In 2009, RIFF will be held for the sixth time between the 17th to the 27th of september.