Contemporary Sámi Cinema is a film series as part of Gulahallat, a programme dedicated to Sámi culture, presented from September 11 to October 24, 2026, at Institut finlandais.
In collaboration with the Skábma Indigenous Film Centre, the series presents three films offering an insight into Sámi cinema:
THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER – 7PM
Árru by Elle Sofe Sara
Norway – Sweden – Finland / 2026 / 95′
With English subtitles
Amid the breathtaking landscapes of Sápmi, reindeer herder Maia fights to protect her ancestral lands from a looming mining project. As protests rise, she turns to her charismatic uncle Lemme for help, but his presence reignites deep-buried traumas. Maia must choose: save the land at the cost of her family or surrender it to break the silence.
In the presence of Tarja Porsanger, Coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples’ Film Center Skábma.
THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER – 7PM
Sami Blood by Amanda Kernell (Sameblod)
Sweden, Denmark, Norway / 2017 / 110’
With French subtitles
Elle Marja, a fourteen-year-old Sami girl, is at boarding school. Exposed to the racism of the 1930s and the humiliation of ethnic evaluations, she begins to dream of a new life. In order to find freedom and affirm what she wants to become, she thinks that she has no other choice than to break away from her family and her culture.
THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER – 7PM
The Tundra Within Me by Sara Margrethe Oskal (Eallogierdu)
Norway / 2023 / 95′
With French subtitles
After living for many years in Oslo, Lena moves back to Northern Norway with her young son to explore Sami lifestyle in an art project. While researching in the wintry tundra, she falls in love with reindeer herder Mahtte – whose mother, the head of the family, disapproves of the relationship. As decisions from the past come to haunt her, Lena struggles to find out whether her and Mahtte’s lifestyles can ever be compatible.
In collaboration with The Indigenous Film Centre Skábma
The Indigenous Film Centre Skábma works to strengthen and develop the Sámi film sector, with a particular focus on increasing Sámi-language film and audiovisual production. It combines cultural and economic goals by creating opportunities for local employment, sustainable industry development, and international collaboration among Indigenous filmmakers.
Photos © Dánil Røkke
