Director Katja Gauriloff has made history with “Je’vida,” the first feature shot in the Skolt Sámi language.
“It’s my native tongue, but because of forced assimilation in Finland [of the Sámi people] I didn’t actually learn it. I am studying it only now,” she tells Variety ahead of the Toronto premiere.
“It’s endangered: we have only 300 speakers. There is maybe one village where it’s still in everyday use, which also influenced casting. But we are doing everything we can to keep it alive.”
In “Je’vida,” starring Sanna-Kaisa Palo and “Compartment No. 6” breakout Seidi Haarla, not all actors are Sámi.
“It was a compromise, of course, because I had to be realistic. But also, we are talking about people who are changing cultures. These two women are fully Finnish, so they shared their characters’ confusion. That being said, I would love to make a film with an all-Sámi cast one day,...
“It’s my native tongue, but because of forced assimilation in Finland [of the Sámi people] I didn’t actually learn it. I am studying it only now,” she tells Variety ahead of the Toronto premiere.
“It’s endangered: we have only 300 speakers. There is maybe one village where it’s still in everyday use, which also influenced casting. But we are doing everything we can to keep it alive.”
In “Je’vida,” starring Sanna-Kaisa Palo and “Compartment No. 6” breakout Seidi Haarla, not all actors are Sámi.
“It was a compromise, of course, because I had to be realistic. But also, we are talking about people who are changing cultures. These two women are fully Finnish, so they shared their characters’ confusion. That being said, I would love to make a film with an all-Sámi cast one day,...
- 9/11/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Award-winning Sámi Blood among films set to play in special focus on cinema of the region’s indigenous people.
Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival will put the spotlight on the cinema of the region’s indigenous Sámi community at its 40th edition running Jan 27 to Feb 6, 2017.
“Sámi film is hotter than ever. That’s why we’re turning the spotlight on the north,” says the festival’s artistic director Jonas Holmberg.
The Sápmi cultural region stretches across large tracts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia.
The semi-nomadic Sámi people – who traditionally make their living from fishing, hunting and reindeer herding – have suffered discrimination for centuries from dominant, incoming populations.
But in recent years, more enlightened cultural policies have seen a number of Sámi film-makers and producers emerging to tell Sámi stories as well as the establishment of the Sámi Film Institute.
“Sápmi has transformed into a very exciting film region, with a new generation...
Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival will put the spotlight on the cinema of the region’s indigenous Sámi community at its 40th edition running Jan 27 to Feb 6, 2017.
“Sámi film is hotter than ever. That’s why we’re turning the spotlight on the north,” says the festival’s artistic director Jonas Holmberg.
The Sápmi cultural region stretches across large tracts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia.
The semi-nomadic Sámi people – who traditionally make their living from fishing, hunting and reindeer herding – have suffered discrimination for centuries from dominant, incoming populations.
But in recent years, more enlightened cultural policies have seen a number of Sámi film-makers and producers emerging to tell Sámi stories as well as the establishment of the Sámi Film Institute.
“Sápmi has transformed into a very exciting film region, with a new generation...
- 11/7/2016
- ScreenDaily
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