Scandinavia House Presents Sámi Cultural Week

From November 3 through November 8, Scandinavia House presents a week of virtual cultural programs exploring the culture of the Sámi, the indigenous people of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia's Kola Peninsula, with the 3rd Annual Sámi Film Festival, including screenings and film panels, and a Sámi Authors You Should Know literary panel. From Thursday, November 5 through Sunday, November 8, the 3rd Annual Sámi Film Festival explores Sámi values, visions, and stories, through a series of short films and documentaries from Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

Presented a partnership between The National Nordic Museum in Seattle and Scandinavia House in New York, with support provided by the Consulate General of Finland in New York, The Embassy of Finland, Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York, The Consulate General of Sweden in New York and institutional support provided by the Pacific Sámi Searvi and International Sámi Film Institute, films will be presented virtually from November 5 through 8, with a live filmmaker panel taking place on November 7 at 2 PM. Film packages include the feature film Kaisa's Enchanted Forest /Kuun metsän Kaisa, which looks at the extraordinary friendship between Skolt Sámi storyteller Kaisa Gauriloff and Swiss writer Robert Crottet as it unfolds through the eyes of Gauriloff's great-granddaughter Katja, who employs animated poetry and historical film footage from WWII as well as evocative vintage footage shot by Crottet and his life partner Enrique Mendez. Preceding the feature film, the short documentary Heidi /Kai´ssi-U´lljan-Mää´rj-U´lljan (directed by Aleksi Ahlakorpi) tells the story a young Skolt Sámi woman gaining back her language and culture.

Running concurrently, the 3rd Annual Sámi Film Festival's second package "Short Films" features seven shorts by Sámi filmmakers: Pulling in the Belt/Ribadit, directed by Elle Sofe Sara; Liššá, directed by Jonne Järvinen; Áile and Grandmother, directed by Silja Somby; Giitu, directed by Olve Aslaksen; A Home Truth, directed by Rebecca King; Garjá, directed by Lada Suomenrinne and Niki Rasmus; and Spring 2020/Vår2020, directed by Ann Holmgren. Learn more here. On Saturday, November 7, the festival continues with a Virtual Film Panel with Sámi filmmakers and scholars as they delve into Sámi cinema.

Filmmakers Rebecca King, Elle Sofe Sara, and Silja Somby, and Sámi scholar Dr. Troy Storfjell (Professor of Nordic Studies, Pacific Lutheran University) will discuss Sámi values, vision, and stories - and why they're able to speak to diverse audiences. The panel takes place at 2 PM ET and will be moderated by Dr. Amanda Doxtater (Assistant Professor, Scandinavian Department, University of Washington), as a Zoom webinar.

In literary programming on Tuesday, November 3, Scandinavia House presents the panel discussion Sámi Authors You Should Know at 2 PM ET, with Johanna Domokos and Saami poet, musician and scriptwriter Niillas Holmberg, moderated by Harald Gaski As part of the ongoing series Nordic Authors You Should Know, the panelists will discuss Sámi literature and culture today, and respond to audience questions in a Q&A. The Nordic Authors panel series continues throughout the fall; all videos are available to stream following the program on our YouTube playlist.

To learn more about the events and to register/purchase tickets, visit scandinaviahouse.org.