“This richly told drama depicts real-life events through the story of a young Sami woman stirred to take radical action in the fight for both a river and indigenous recognition in Norway” (InReview). See Let the River Flow (dir. Ole Giæver, Norway, 2023), a new drama about a woman’s struggle to embrace her Indigenous identity amid a movement for Sámi rights, on March 20 at Scandinavia House!
In 1970s Norway, Ester hides her Sámi identity to fit in. Then, the Norwegian government announces its plan to build a hydroelectric power plant on the Alta River—a development that would devastate her people’s way of life. As tensions rise and a protest movement grows louder, Ester must confront her roots for the first time in her life. Driven to decolonize her mindset, Ester’s own journey of self-discovery enables her to stand up for what’s right.
About the Director
Ole Giæver is a Norwegian director. His feature debut, The Mountain (2011), was selected for Panorama at the Berlinale. His second feature, Out of Nature (2015), premiered at Toronto and in Panorama at the Berlinale, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label Award. He returned to the Berlinale in 2017 with From the Balcony (2017), which was also selected for Panorama. Let the River Flow (2023) debuted at the Film Festival in Tromsø, winning the Audience Award. It also won the Audience and Fipresci Award at the Film Festival in Göteborg.