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The Annual Sámi Film Festival returns to Scandinavia House and virtually nationwide! Now in its 7th year, the festival celebrates the rich storytelling traditions of the Sámi, an Indigenous people of the northernmost parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. This year’s program is curated by acclaimed visual artist Matti Aikio, whose work in sound and video art has captivated audiences across the globe, and one of 12 artists featured in Arctic Highways, a 2023 exhibition exploring contemporary art by Indigenous artists from the Arctic. Presented annually in partnership with the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, this year’s festival will also be co-presented with Anchorage Museum, a significant art, history, ethnography, ecology, and science museum dedicated to studying and exploring the land, peoples, art, and history of Alaska.
The program will combine short films and feature films from different eras. New experimental films, which defy categorization in genres and resemble video art, will be paired with canonical films like Markku Lehmuskallio’s Skierri from 1982. In-person screenings will take place on Thursday, February 6 & Saturday, February 8 at Scandinavia House, and virtual screenings will be available nationwide from February 7 through 13. Other opening weekend in-person screenings will take place at the Majestic Bay Theatres in Seattle and at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska.
“We are thrilled to welcome Matti Aikio to curate this year’s festival,” said Leslie Anne Anderson, Chief Curator of the National Nordic Museum. “Matti Aikio’s thought-provoking work explores the intersection of modern Western society and Indigenous cultures, investigating cultural appropriation, commodification of Indigenous cultures, and Sámi self-determination. His depth of knowledge and contemporary perspective on Sami art, history, and culture unique vision will raise important questions and encourage critical thinking.”
Programming schedule and tickets will be announced soon; please check back for details.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
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.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Matti Aikio (b. 1980) is a Sámi visual artist from the Finnish side of Sápmi. He has a background in Sámi reindeer herding culture and holds an MA in contemporary art from Tromsø Academy of Contemporary Art, and has had artwork exhibited in various countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. He works with mixed media, photography, sound, installations, video, sculpture and text, and his main interest as an artist is to try to offer the spectators a possibility to shift perspective on often marginalized issues. Aikio also performs as a DJ.
SUPPORT
The 7th Annual Sámi Film Festival is presented a partnership with The National Nordic Museum in Seattle and the Anchorage Museum. It is is made possible by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
