Reindeer herding, the life of the Sami.
Social & External
The people behind it
Stig Wesslén
On Saturday, April 26, spring came to Sweden. That same day, Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Bringing mild winds to Scandinavia. Sweden suffered heavily of radioactive poison.
Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan travels to the frozen north, deep inside the Arctic Circle, to meet the ancient Sami people and the animals they hold so close - reindeer.
In the film about "the land of eternal light and eternal darkness" we meet some women who talk about their lives. The women have all grown up in reindeer herding families and as children they lived in kotas, moved with reindeer and lived a life in nature. Their own children, on the other hand, have grown up in "normal" Swedish society. None of them have lived like their parents. The film addresses Sami culture, language, school. How modern technology has affected the lives of the Sami.
The fate of a culture lies on the shoulders of few determined individuals.
Loving someone of the same gender is frowned upon in Sami communities. Sparrooabbán (Me and my little sister) shows what it’s like to be a minority within a minority. Suvi describes how her little sister Kaisa wishes to be accepted as she is. Like her sister, Kaisa is a Sami, but also in a relationship with a woman, and she also works as a deacon. There are obviously more constricting communities in the film than only one.
Sami reindeer herders win a Supreme Court victory against Europe’s largest wind farm - but when the state refuses to act, their fight reveals a deeper crisis of justice and trust.
A BBC Four Slow Christmas treat follows Norway’s Sami reindeer herds as they migrate across the mountainous region of Finnmark, far north of the Arctic Circle. The journey, a little over 160 miles, takes the herd a week, travelling north from the inland winter feeding grounds to their coastal summer pastures. The film travels with the Sara family and their herd around the clock as they cross the Arctic wilderness to reach the coastal island of Kvaloya Fala in time for the calves to be born. It is a journey fraught with hazardous weather conditions.
Love, music, Sami identity and environmental activism go hand in hand in this inspiring tale of young singer Ella and her fight against the mining company that threatens her Sami heritage.
The documentary Rap and Reindeer follows the life of 18-year-old Sámi rapper Mihkku Laiti, who lives in the northernmost corner of Sámiland. The film is a coming-of-age story, following Mihku on his journey towards a career as a musician and rise to stardom in the midst of varying expectations. He’s charmed the crowd on Talent Suomi and proudly wears the Sámi clothing he has styled himself. He raps and yoiks in harmony, designs his own brand on his computer but also masters the skill of laborious reindeer herding. Above all, he sees his own unique roots and the Sámi language as his greatest strength. The future makes him wonder: to follow his father’s footsteps or to reach for his dreams.
A documentary about Sami comic artist Mats Jonsson and his relative Stor-Stina. Her remains were long believed to have been lost in a fire but were recently found and returned to her home town of Malå to be buried.
Also known as Reindeer Time and Inheritance, this 9-minute short by Arne Sucksdorff documents the Sámi people’s autumn migration as they guide their reindeer herds back to the forest lands. Blending ethnographic observation with lyrical nature imagery, the film follows the reindeer through mountain landscapes, calving, herding, and branding, underscoring the deep interdependence of humans, animals, and the northern environment.
An essay film about how it may feel to grow up as a young Sami in Sweden, with poetry written by Ella-Maria Nutti and graphics by Irma Bergdahl. The partying of a typical teenager together with the labels put on you that wont go away, the questions which are thrown on you as knives in the back. A tribute to our ancestors who fought for our rights and a declaration of love to the young Samis who continues to fight
Two parallel stories are gradually unfolding the everyday life of two very different persons - that of 86-year-old Sara and 7-year-old Mihka - both residing in Guovdageaidnu - Kautokeino, in the middle of the Norwegian arctic tundra, through the drastic change of the arctic seasons and the passage from the long winter’s darkness to the never-ending light of the summer season.
Off The Mark is a documentary about a world-first dog sled expedition in Finnmark, Norway, in the middle of the polar night in search of microplastics and indigenous solutions to the climate crisis.
Follows Astrid & Sune as they show techniques and methods of sami handcraft.
Examines the extraordinary lifelong friendship between Skolt Sámi storyteller Kaisa Gauriloff and the Swiss-Russian author Robert Crottet through the eyes of Gauriloff’s great-granddaughter Katja.
The AssimiNation is a political pamphlet portraying the indigenous Sámi people fighting for their existence. The film follows the on going cultural genocide of the Sámi which the current Governmental politics allow. This film is a cry for help for the last indigenous people living in the EU.
Everyday wintertime life of Sámi reindeer herder Inka Länta and her family, mingling authentic and fictionalized takes.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
With unprecedented access to the official archives and intimate recollections from the band, both current and past, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition invites fans to experience one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Spanning five decades, this electrifying documentary charts the band’s rise from the pubs of East London to the world’s biggest stadiums. Featuring exclusive interviews with band members and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, as well as all-new animated sequences of the band's legendary mascot, Eddie, the film offers a rare and intimate look at Iron Maiden’s uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their truly global army of fans.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
