The 6th annual Sámi Film Festival will return to the Scandinavia House from February 8-11, 2024. Virtual screenings will take place throughout the 4 days of festival nationwide and in-person screenings will take place Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10. Guest curator Liselotte Wajstedt has selected a variety of contemporary and historical Sámi features, documentaries and short films.
Wajstedt, a Sámi filmmaker from Kiruna, Sweden, based in Stockholm, is the director of The Silence in Sápmi (dir. Liselotte Wajstedt, Sweden, 2022) and Sire and the Last Summer (dir. Liselotte Wajstedt, Sweden, 2022), both of which screened at last year's Sámi Film Festival. A prolific filmmaker, Wajstedt has made over two dozen shorts and feature films spanning genres and incorporating diverse techniques including animation, claymation, stop-motion, and superimposition. In addition to her directorial practice, she possesses a background in painting and fine arts.
The Sámi Film Festival originated as a partnership between the National Nordic Museum and Pacific Sámi Searvi in 2018. Since that time, it has become an onsite event drawing audiences from the East and West Coasts.
On Friday, February 9 at 7pm, the opening night film JE'VIDA will screen at the Scandinavian House. Je'Vida, is the first feature film to be shot in the Skolt Sámi language. The film follows a Sámi woman who returns to her childhood home in Lapland with her niece following her sister's death. The woman must now face memories of forced assimilation during her childhood as well as the rural way of life she long suppressed. Je'Vida has been hailed as "a strong and assured filmmaking debut" (The Spool) and "an ode to the importance of home, family and a sense of belonging" (Eye for Film).
On Saturday, February 10, the Saturday Short Screenings will also take place at the Scandinavian House. In two sessions, eight films will screen. The first session is at 1pm with a 20 minute intermission and the second session will start at 3pm.
To find a link to the full line-up of short films as well as info about opening night and virtual screenings, head to the festival's website here:
https://www.scandinaviahouse.org
The Scandinavian House is located at 58 Park Avenue, four blocks south of Grand Central Station. Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America is the leading center for Nordic culture in the United States.