About

Frú Elísabet (Mrs. Elisabet)

María Elísabet Jónsdóttir, or Frú Elísabet frá Grenjaðarstað (Miss Elisabet from Grenjadarastadur) as she is often referred to as, was born in 1869 in South-Western Icealand. She had a musical background, was married to a priest and moved to Northern Iceland and lived for a good portion of her life at the church farm Grenjaðarstaður in Aðaldalur, Suður- Þingeyjarsýsla. She passed away in 1945 and has until now mostly been remembered for her extramarital affairs, even though she was a multi pioneer; establishing no less than three women's non profit organisation in three of the places where she lived, was an active member in the communities where she fought for women's right and the right to vote, as well as she was one of the first Icelandic women ever to compose and publish a song on print, Farfuglarnir in 1915. Postmortem a printed issue with 9 of her songs was published that had not been recorded till this day. The short documentary Miss Elisabet portrays in a cinematic way her life as well as her 9 songs have been conducted and recorded by musician Fanney Kristjáns Snjólaugardóttir and can be heard in the film. The film is a unique documentation of the life and music of one of the pioneer women in Icelandic womens' and music history.

Length: 20 mins

Release year: 2019

Producer: Fanney Kristjáns Snjólaugardóttir

Co-Producer: Anna Sæunn Ólafsdóttir / NyArk Media

Directors: Fanney Kristjáns Snjólaugardóttir, Elvar Örn Egilsson and Anna Sæunn Ólafsdóttir

Cinematography: Elvar Örn Egilsson