Sami space in Nordic Film Fest in Rome

The 6th edition of the Nordic Film Festival (NFF) being held at the Cinema House in Rome until May 7 has reserved a special area for the cinematography of the Nordic countries with stories and themes related to the Sámi people.

This reservation is a rare novelty compared to the previous editions of NFF.

In Italy the Sámi people are commonly called Lapps, or members of the Lappish indigenous community that extends north of the Nordic countries and, to a minimum, even in Russia.

This special section in the NFF called “Sámi Space” was designed to commemorate the centenary of the first National Congress of Sámi which took place on February 6, 1917 in Trondheim, Norway, where Sámi people from Finland, Norway and Sweden gathered for the first time. In addition, the NFF logo this year contains the colours of the Sámi flag.

The films of “Sámi Space” comprise the 1952 classic Valkoinen Peura (the white reindeer shepherd) directed by Erik Blomberg of Finland, which inaugurated the NFF on May 4; Kuunmetsän Kaisa (Kaisa’s enchanted forest), 2016, by director Katja Gauriloff of Finland; Veiviseren (pathfinder), 1987, Norway, by director Nils Gaup; Stoerre Vaerie (northern great mountain), 2015, Sweden, by director Amanda Kernell; Sameblod (sámi blood), 2016, also by director Amanda Kernell; and Sámi Bojá (Sami Boy), 2015, Norway, by director Elle Sofe Henriksen.

The Nordic countries have in recent years witnessed an emerging new generation of actors and directors who, thanks to a remarkable artistic variety, have won a significant place in the world cinema arena, which the NFF wishes to promote as an important source of “creative marketing”.

The event, taking place at the Casa del Cinema in Rome, has been created and developed by the Nordic embassies in collaboration with the Film Institutes of the respective countries and with the support and sponsorship of the Municipality of Rome, Nordic Culture Fund and the European Union. It presents new, or never yet presented in Italy, films, documentaries, and short films – all screened in their original languages and with Italian subtitles. The programme of the event also includes presentations and meetings with high profile guests (directors, actors, etc.). The entry is free.

This year’s edition of the NFF follows the main theme ‘trip’ in its various aspects and, being the centenary of the Finnish independence, so the starter has been the Finnish film Valkoinenpeura (the white reindeer) of 1952.

The NFF presents 14 films, one documentary, eight short films, and one video film, distributed as follows: Denmark - two films, Finland - three films and one documentary, Iceland - two films, Norway – four films and one short film, Sweden - three films and one short film; Scandinavian Circle - six short films and one visual/video art film for an overall of 30 hours.

All screenings are free of charge but only a limited amount of seats are available.

Nordic Film Festival, which began on May 4, ends today.