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Section: International Competition of European First Films
Sami Blood (2016)
The Scandinavian variant of a shameful practice employed by self-proclaimed “civilized" nations around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries: the systematic removal of Indigenous children from their parents, homes, and traditional lifestyles and forced integration into an educational system that taught them that their customs and lifestyles were inferior at best. Elle Marja is a teenage Sámi girl in the 1930s who is sent to a boarding school intended on raising its Indigenous charges to a level "acceptable" to the rest of Swedish society. Curious and excited, Elle Marja at first excels in her new surroundings, mastering the Swedish language and her other lessons while her younger sister, Njenna, struggles. But this very success, coupled with Elle Marja's intense desire to be accepted by her teachers, her internalization of the school's vile lessons about race and class, and her burgeoning sexuality, soon drives a wedge between her and her fellow students, forcing her to take an action she may not have the opportunity to regret.
| Country | Sweden, Denmark, Norway |
|---|---|
| Year | 2016 |
| Duration | 110 min |
| Rating | 15 |
| Language | Swedish |
| Subtitle | English, Czech |
| Directed by | Amanda Kernell |
| Screenplay | Amanda Kernell |
| Director of Photography | Sophia Olsson, Petrus Sjövik |
| Music | Kristian Eidnes Andersen |
| Edited by | Anders Skov |
| Contact | Film Europe |
Biography
A Swedish screenwriter and director, she graduated in stage script-writing and AV media at Biskops-Arnö, a course in screenwriting at Filmpool Nord and later in directing at the National Film School of Denmark. She gained wide recognition for her short feature films, including My Holiday Sister (Semesterssystern, 2008) and Northern Great Mountain (Stoerre vaerie, 2015). She's debuting with the feature-length drama Sami Blood (Sameblod, 2016).
Drama, Family, Human Rights, Nature, Tradition, First Feature, Indigenious