The Lake House of ÚLfljótsvatn
House for our summer volunteers - guesthouse - residency for writers and artists in the winter
Land dedicated to reforestation
Mathias Malzieu
Mathias Malzieu is a French author and musician, known as the composer and lead singer of French rock band Dionysos. He dwelled in Úlfljótsvatn for a weeklong retreat in January 2025 to work on his new book projects and his upcoming musical show.
Mathias has maintained a strong personal relation to Iceland which started in 2006 when Dionysos performed in the now famous music festival Iceland Airwaves. This marked the beginning of a series of trips. In 2016, after a life-threatening illness, Mathias Malzieu decides to travel back to Iceland and to cross the country on top of an electric skateboard. This adventure, published in Carnets de Board in 2017, strengthens his relation to the country and his intimate knowledge of its nature and its inhabitants.
Multitalent troubadour for both children and adults, Mathias Malzieu used his time in Úlfljótsvatn to create everyday, both texts and music. Not much can be said as of now about his new book project, as it is still in the making. However, one could say that he was deeply inspired by the surroundings of Úlfljótsvatn, the scout forest and our Lake House, and that, to some extent, the readers will get to find them in this new and original story. Mathias Malzieu has also notably been working on a new music project blending reading and sounds with Icelandic artist Barði Jóhannsson from local band Bang Gang that will be released in the near future.
The end of his residency was celebrated at the cultural center Mengi with the support of the French Embassy in Iceland during a concert evening with readings from his books and a bit of personal story telling.
This residency was planned in close partnership with the Alliance Francaise in Reykjavík, who came to visit him in Úlfljótsvatn.
Photos credits (Photo 1): © Sunna Ben for Ambassade de France en Islande.
Sarah Bussy
Sarah Bussy is a French writer who came for a two week long work retreat in January 2024 to finish her second novel titled L'Eclipse.
Her book tells the story of a woman who, during a walk like any other in a forest, on a nice spring afternoon, decides to run away, leaving her life in France, her husband and baby, behind. She instinctively travels North and ends up in Iceland where she finally settles, by a lake. This is the starting point.
Imagined, dreamed, and finally experienced, the country described in the book echoes Sarah Bussy's own relationship to the extreme yet incredibly living nature of Iceland. Her book approaches themes such as the need to move close to nature, to find one's right place in life, maternity and its acceptance, the passing of time, all the while dealing with family bonds and contemplating one's own existence in relation to the surrounding environment.
Her residency was dedicated to finishing her book, and experience life in the Icelandic countryside and its weather, and learning about the differences between the Icelandic and French forests (she has notably visited the Pine Stand of Þingvellir, Þrastalundur, and Hamraskógur in Hveragerði). As part of this residency, she held two writing workshops for the Icelandic students of the Alliance Francaise in Reykjavík who are learning French. The students got to think about encounters that can be made in a forest, and share their thoughts on their relationship to trees, but also got to work on the theme of water and its various forms and shapes in Iceland. The workshops received good feedback from the parents and their children.
L'Eclipse was published at the end of August 2024 at the Julliard publishing house.
Doris Buttignol & Alice Cagnat
Doris Buttignol and Alice Cagnat are two French documentary directors who stayed at Úlfljótsvatn for a month in autumn 2023 to work on a podcast project.
Their work focuses on the “sprakkar”, the strong Icelandic women who have worked towards a shift in people's relationship to the environment and to answer the challenges of the climate crisis. The podcast idea is a follow up of an-hour long documentary Islande: Femmes au bord de la crise de Terre for which they followed Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Icelandic prime minister of the Left Green political movement, Katrín Oddsdóttir, lawyer advocating for a new state constitution, and Katrín Pétursdóttir, CEO of Lýsi and Pure North, a company that recycles plastic found on the coast.
The residency was dedicated to meeting additional informers, leading interviews, and editing the podcast, during which they notably had the opportunity to meet with Eliza Reid, First Lady of Iceland, but also to finalize the production of their documentary. They also visited various forest sites and lead walking interviews with some of our staff and board members, such as Haukadalsskógur, Hagavík, and Vinaskógur.
Website Doris Buttignol: https://dorisbuttignol.fr/
Webpage Alice Cagnat : Alice Cagnat
Karine Blanche Emmanuelle Seror
Karine Blanche Emmanuelle Seror is a French contemporary artist based in Austria who came to Iceland for an artistic residency with Arts Iceland, funded by the Federal Ministry of the Arts and Culture of Austria.
Her art research project is titled "Re-pair, re-member the landscape" and questions the abiotic concept (what is seen as non-living or inanimate by scientists). She therefore explores how the geological and the biotic interact in Iceland, and how one can witness these interactions on a daily basis. To achieve that she mobilizes sound composition and video-making. To do that, she got access to our church in Úlfljótsvatn and its electric organ for her music. She has presented her work in the form of videos in February and December 2023 under the name "Abiotic Solfegio".
Website: https://www.galerieblanche.net/
Thomas Fecchio
Thomas Fecchio is a French author who came in autumn 2022 for the writing residency of the French Embassy in Iceland and the Alliance Francaise in Reykjavík, in partnership with the Centre Intermondes and the Maison des Ecritures of La Rochelle and Rithöfundasamband Íslands.
His stay in Iceland gave him the opportunity to work on his last crime novel, temporarily titled La Prédiction, and to familiarize himself with the polar literature scene. He notably participated in the Iceland Noir festival as a panel participant on the topic of madness and obsession in polar writing.
He stayed for a three days long work retreat at the Lake House of Úlfljótsvatn to write his book and learn more about Iceland and its history, as part of his residency with the French Embassy of Iceland.
Webpage: https://alca-nouvelle-aquitaine.fr/fr/annuaire-des-professionnels/fecchio-thomas
The Lake House of Úlfljótsvatn
Úlfljótsvatnsbær
Grafningsvegur Efri
805 Selfoss
Iceland
+354-783-9531
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