The eruption of the Eyjafjöll volcano, located on the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap, in 2010 paralyzed much of Europe’s air traffic. This eruption made such an impression that Alexandre Coffre made a film of it in 2013. But by the way, how is “Eyjafjallajökull” pronounced?
Eyjafjallajökull: from volcano to film
A little throwback to 2010. The Eyjafjöll volcano creates an unprecedented air traffic paralysis. More than 6,000 commercial flights are canceled or diverted, resulting in more$1 a billion in losses for airlines. At the time, most media identify the Eyjafjallajökull mountain range as the source of the problem. We will learn a little later that Eyjafjallajökull is actually an ice cap in the south of Iceland, with an area of about 78 km². It is the sixth-largest glacier in the country. And this glacier partially covers a volcanic massif: Eyjafjöll. It was the latter that erupted and created all this mess in Europe.
Eyjafjallajökull Glacier ©Wikipedia
In 2013, filmmaker Alexandre Coffre decided to make a family comedy slightly inspired by this natural disaster. For his second feature film (after Pure business), Alexandre Coffre surrounds himself with a fairly impressive cast including Valérie Bonneton, Dany Boon, Denis Ménochet, Malik Bentalha, and Constance Dollé.
How to pronounce this cursed glacier?
The film Eyjafjallajökull, therefore, uses the eruption of the Eyjafjöll volcano as the starting point for the plot. A divorced couple embodied by Dany Boon and Valérie Bonneton must imperatively go to Greece for the wedding of their daughter. Corn the eruption of Eyjafjöll prevents them from flying. The two protagonists, who have a boundless hatred for each other, will have to use their imagination and a lot of determination to arrive in time for their daughter’s wedding.
Thus, Alexandre Coffre decides to take over the name of the Icelandic glacier for his film: Eyjafjallajökull. A risky bet as it is an extremely complicated word to pronounce. To accompany the release of the film, the distribution company decided to add a tagline that makes you smile: “Otherwise say the volcano”. However, Eyjafjallajökull well as a pronunciation, which is as difficult as you imagine. Indeed, according to the Icelandic Embassy, Eyjafjallajökull is pronounced: É-YA-FIAT-LA-YEU-KEUTL. Indeed, it takes a certain talent for diction. We let you train behind your ice.
