Travelling Film Festival Newcastle
22-24 June

Sami Blood (2016 Sweden)

Director: Amanda Kernell
Starring: Lene Cecilia Sparrok, Mia Erika Sparrok, Maj-Doris Rimpi
Genre: Drama
Duration: 110 mins

A moving coming-of-age tale set against the scarring social prejudices of the 1930s, the debut feature from Swedish-Sami writer-director Amanda Kernell blends adolescent fears that resonate across borders and generations with a fascinatingly rarely depicted cultural context: Sweden’s colonial oppression of the indigenous Sami folk. Following strong-willed teenager Elle Marja, a reindeer-breeding Sámi girl, as she is forced to choose between remaining with her people or pursuing the education and opportunities otherwise denied her, this stirring unsentimental tale is no museum piece.