Árru
In this inventive, visually arresting directorial debut from indigenous Sámi filmmaker Elle Sofe Sara, we follow Maia (Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska), a Sámi reindeer herder whose livelihood and ancestral lands are under imminent threat by an upcoming mining project. As a last-ditch effort, she contacts her estranged uncle for legal advice. But his return to their Sápmi home in Europe’s icy far north reopens deep familial wounds, and Maia faces an impossible choice of what to protect: her family or the land they rely upon to survive. The first ever feature film to do so, Árru weaves the joik, a traditional form of Sámi music, into the drama’s narrative, creating a singular, breathtaking audio-visual experience that brings Sámi culture to the big screen in a bold new way. —Sofia Felino
Director/s
Elle Sofe Sara
Elle Sofe Sara is a choreographer, director, and filmmaker from Guovdageaidnu, Sápmi/Norway. She creates innovative works that blend Sámi physicality, spirituality, and yoika across film and performance. In recent years, Sara has toured internationally with the performance, The Answer Is Land, produced by Elle Sofe Company, and created the yoik ballet, Láhppon/Lost, commissioned by the Norwegian National Ballet. Her debut feature film, Árru, is the world’s first Sámi yoik drama.