This year, the Braunschweig International Film Festival is focusing on a people from the north of Europe: around 140,000 Sami live in the north of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, the only people recognized as indigenous in Europe. The special series Sámi Cinema - Stories from the North tells their story, a story of discrimination and dispossession, but also of cohesion and resistance, and ultimately of emancipation from the majority society. The struggles they are still fighting today can be seen in a very powerful curation of 8 feature-length films and 5 short films, which were selected in collaboration with the International Sámi Film Institute (ISFI) - all films by Sámi directors. "We have been discovering more and more films by Sámi filmmakers at festivals for some time now and were thrilled by the power of these stories. That's how we came across the International Sámi Film Institute and are delighted that we were able to curate this special series together with them," reports Co-Festival Director Karina Gauerhof.
The International Sámi Film Institute was founded in 2009 in Kautokeino, Norway, and supports Sámi filmmakers financially and in the production and distribution of their films with the aim of creating a sustainable and innovative Sámi film industry that is visible and attractive worldwide. Sami see themselves as one people. National borders do not exist for them. Storytelling has always been at the heart of their culture and has been an important way of passing on knowledge and values. It serves as a means of conveying wisdom, cultural identity and a deep connection with nature. Their stories often feature figures and spirits from nature, reflecting the Sam:innen's belief that all elements of nature are alive and interconnected. With THE TUNDRA WITHIN ME, a Sami film is represented in this year's main competition, while film fans can also look forward to the showpiece of Sami film culture, PATHFINDER, the first film shot in Sami to be nominated for an Oscar.