24/03/2009 11:28
Icelandic Documentary on Bobby Fischer Premieres

The documentary Me & Bobby Fischer by Icelandic director Fridrik Gudmundsson premiers on April 17. It follows Fischer’s long-standing friend Saemundur Pálsson, a.k.a. Saemi Rokk, to Japan where he tried to free Fischer from prison.

“This film is first and foremost about emotions and relationships and it is about people,” Gudmundsson told Morgunbladid. The main focus is on the friendship between the late chess master and Pálsson.

As a former police officer, Pálsson served as Fischer’s bodyguard during the 1972 World Championship in Chess in Reykjavík.

“The film is about both of them,” Gudmundsson explained. “It begins in the Cold War […]. Then we travel to Japan where Saemi is trying to free his friend. Then the story continues until Bobby’s death.”

Approximately two years ago, the RJF Group, Fischer’s support group in Iceland, released a statement saying that Fischer was dissatisfied with the documentary.

However, when asked, Gudmundsson said it had been based on a misunderstanding and that Fischer had never been against the film. “I made an honorary agreement with him once where he said that I could keep the material and do whatever I wanted with it.”

The film will be shown as part of the Graena ljósid film series.

Click here to read more about Bobby Fischer in Iceland.

Source: http://www.icelandreview.com

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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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