Sámi Shorts

Sámi cinema, and indigenous cinema in general, has developed rapidly in recent years. Digitalization, film education, dedicated funding channels, and the expansion of the production field have improved both the quality and quantity of films. Cinema plays an important role, as it provides a modern means, closely connected to tradition, for recording and transmitting cultural knowledge, as well as creating new stories. In this way, it helps keep Sámi culture alive and sustainable. Films can also aid in the revitalization of endangered languages and cultures, highlight social injustices, challenge false preconceptions about indigenous peoples, and foster a sense of community among different indigenous groups.

Skábmagovat is an international event that opens up the world of Sámi and other indigenous film storytelling. The program includes short films, documentaries, and feature films that share stories and perspectives about the world, as told by indigenous peoples themselves. The pride of the festival is the legendary Snow Theatre, where films are screened in a theatre made of snow, with the sky and stars serving as the ceiling.

The short film series compiled from the Skábmagovat Film Festival offers a glimpse into how contemporary Sámi cinema approaches various issues, such as concepts of time, the relationship with nature, and climate change. It also includes traditional animal stories, forest spirits, and a sense of unhurriedness.

Curator: Tarja Porsanger

Indigenous Peoples’ Film Festival Skábmagovat

Film Centre Skábma /The Sámi Parliament of Finland

Screened:
WED 23/10, 19:00 REGINA
SUN 27/10, 13:00 SLOTTS

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THE FOX

In this music-filled road movie, a hungry fox faced with poor luck in hunting resorts to cunning when he encounters a fisherman on his way home with a big catch.

Sápmi, Norway 2023 / 8:00 / Director: Sara Margrethe Oskal

WHISPERS OF REINDEER MILK

In an alternative Sámi universe, the primordial knowledge of colonialism has been removed. The journey to the heart of the land is exciting, meditative and without a shred of hurry.

Sápmi, Norway 2023 / 18:00 / Director: Mihkkal Hætta

ÁHKUIN

This film is a visual and musical love letter to the director’s late grandmother, Niillasaš-Jovnna Máret, one hundred years after her birth. Archival interviews and the joik of áhkku unspool as a connecting thread across time, and the melancholic yet playful story offers lessons for the new era defined by giving and receiving.

Sápmi, Finland 2024 / 19:00 / Director: Sunna Nousuniemi

SKÁDJA

A meeting between two women in the woods strongly affects them both. Can they overcome their trauma? Music, movement and nature set the tone for a love story which echoes 17th century witch-hunts and past pains.

Sápmi, Norway 2022 / 17:00 / Director: Eili Bråstad

MOTHER

This multi-layered visual saga tells a story of childhood memories and the intrinsic connection between mother and daughter and their land. Háldi, a creature of the forest, may lure children into the woods, but it also teaches them to protect nature and ensure that the eternal cycle continues.

Sápmi, Sweden 2022 / 7:00 / Director: Liselotte Wajstedt

TEARDROPS OF OUR GRANDMOTHER

“I am this land, its silence and rhythm.” A poetic depiction of the connection between man and earth on the threshold of inexorably advancing climate change.

Sápmi, Sweden 2023 / 15:00 / Director: Jenni Laiti, Carl-Johan Utsi