Vanyaland is proud to announce it will be co-presenting the area premiere of the award-winning Icelandic film Metalhead in conjunction with the Brattle Theatre and VanyaRadio’s weekly rock show The Voltage Factory next Thursday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Brattle. The movie, which is the latest feature from acclaimed Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason, is a dark, intense drama of faith, loss and heavy metal music in the ’80s and early ’90s.
“Metalhead is a personal film for me,” Bragason says in a statement. “I grew up in a small community in the remote part of Iceland and as a teenager sought refuge and inspiration in heavy metal music. With this film I want to celebrate the music and the impact and influence it has had on me and millions of other people around the world.”
Fueled by a remarkable breakout performance by actress Thora Bjorg Helga, Metalhead begins with a farming accident in the 1980s that sends a young girl, Hera, and her parents into a tailspin of grief over the death of her heavy metal obsessed older brother. A decade later and Hera is transformed into a sexy, surly headbanger and DIY musician, dressed in black leather and a Slayer t-shirt, clutching her dead brother’s electric guitar as she howls anthems of rage — to a barn full of cows.
Partly inspired by the Norwegian black metal church burnings of the early 1990s, the film features a soundtrack of ’80s and ’90s headbanging classics by Riot, Teaze, Savatage, Lizzy Borden and Megadeth. At the 2014 Icelandic Film Awards Metalhead took home eight awards, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress and Original Score.
The Voltage Factory with Michael Christopher broadcasts on VanyaRadio each Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m EST, and replays Mondays from 10 p.m. to midnight EST.
For more information on next Thursday’s screening of Metalhead, including how to buy tickets, visit the Brattle Theatre’s page for the film.
In the meantime, check out the trailer:
