Sami Blood

Showtime: Saturday September 22nd at 11:45 am

107 minutes / Sweden / English, Kikuyu, Swahili

Watch Trailer

Not Rated: Admission restricted to persons 18 years of age and older. Content not suitable for minors. May contain: frequent use of sexual activity, brutal/graphic violence, intense horror and/or other disturbing content.

Exposed to the racism of the 1930s and race biology examinations at her boarding school, the Sámi girl Elle Marja starts dreaming of another life, but to achieve it she must become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.

Reviews

Swedish film director, Amanda Kernell, delivers a “unique little film with some truly great performances by first-time sami actors. Going from beautiful to sad to infuriating to inspiring, this one really does it all. Can’t recommend it enough.” – [user review, non-critic review]

“Though its title sound like it could be the name of a heavy-metal band’s lead singer, “Sami Blood” is a Swedish-Norwegian-Danish co-production that concerns the Sami people, an indigenous population that raises reindeer in Scandinavia’s far north and, in the film’s telling, were oppressed and disdained by other Swedes in the 1930s, when most of the story is set. But the historical and anthropological interest of entering into a little-known culture is only half the film’s appeal. The other half, centered on a precocious Sami girl who wants to leave her rural roots behind, is a lyrical coming-of-age tale of a sort that Scandinavian filmmakers have long had both a fondness and an aptitude for.” – Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com

“This is a powerful film that not only resonates with the recent cycle of films concerning rebellious girls, but with films made by indigenous peoples. Audiences who were moved by Samson And Delilah (Warwick Thorton 2009) or who are familiar with the growing body of film work being made by indigenous filmmakers in Canada will find much to admire here. Director Amanda Kernell is herself of Sami and Swedish descent and her position brings an authenticity to this story and its complex representations of girlhood, femininity, race, and ethnicity.” – Sarah Artt, Eye For Film.

Director:

Amanda Kernell

Writer:

Amanda Kernell

Stars:

Lene Cecilia Sparrok, Mia Erika Sparrok, Maj-Doris Rimpi | See full cast & crew »