As a child in northern Norway in the 1980s and 90s, Egil Pedersen struggled to feel a sense of belonging. Growing up in a Sámi village, he sometimes felt rejected because of his lack of fluency in the Sámi language, and outside the community he was subjected to racist violence.
So when Pedersen, now 47, had the opportunity to make his own feature film, he decided to make the kind of movie that would have made him feel less alone as a child.
The result, Biru Unjárga (meaning “Damn Unjárga” in Sámi – Unjárga is the name of a village in Finnmark, northern Norway) is the first Sámi coming-of-age film.
Even before going on general release – it comes out in Norway on 27 September – the film is making waves. It had its world premiere at the Toronto film festival earlier this month and previews are selling out in cinemas across Finnmark. The team behind it hope to release the film, which in English is called My Fathers’ Daughter, across the Nordics and globally.
The film centres around Elvira, a teenager who, after being told that she was conceived via a Danish fertility clinic, fantasises about her father being the Danish Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. But when her father unexpectedly turns up and she finds out that he is actually Sámi, she embarks on a journey of rejecting and then accepting her true identity.
Had there been such portrayals of young Sámi people on screen when he was growing up, Pedersen believes he might have embraced his identity earlier.
“I also think that I would think: ‘Oh, there are other people like me.’ Even though this was a girl in a lead role, I would still identify with her, or some parts of her, and I would feel less alone in the world,” he said. “That’s what a good film can do.”
He hopes the comedy of the film will help spark discussions in a way that a more serious drama might not. “I hope the humour will give the audience a way to discuss identity and confront their own thoughts about identity.”
Anne Lajla Utsi, the managing director of the International Sámi Film Institute, said it was a landmark moment for Sámi film and culture more broadly.
“It is the first time ever we have a Sámi feature film where our young people are in the centre of the story. Our young generations need to see themselves, their stories and languages reflected in film, as this shows to ourselves and to the world that we are still here, and our existence has value.”
Its international success also makes an important contribution to the fight for Sápmi, the traditional Sámi territory spanning the northern parts of Norway, Finland and Sweden and the Kola peninsula in Russia, she added.
“It manifests the importance of Sámi and Indigenous stories in an international context, and how important it is that we get to tell our own stories from our perspectives.”
Sarah Olaussen Eira, who plays Elvira, had never acted before being cast in the film, but, encouraged by friends, went to the audition for fun.
The 17-year-old, who comes from a Sámi background, said a film made specifically for young Sámi people had been a long time coming. She is still at school, where she is studying music. But she said that starring in the film had given her a taste for acting and she hoped to do more in the future.
“Many young people are thankful to finally have a Sámi youth movie that they can maybe relate to in some way. The movie kind of shows the longing for trying to be something you’re not and then eventually having to accept who you are. I’m really grateful to be a part of that,” she said.
“I know that in Norway there has been a struggle to feel pride about being Sámi for many people, but I hope that young people growing up Sami or people that are taking back their Sámi identity can finally be proud of being who they are.”
The first Sámi feature film directed by a Sámi director was the 1987 film Pathfinder, directed by Nils Gaup, which was nominated for an Oscar. But until recently, few Sámi films have broken into the mainstream.
Lately, however, a number of films have been gaining international recognition. The 2016 film Sami Blood, directed by Amada Kernell, about the assimilation of the Sámi people, won international awards. Recent films include Ole Giæver’s Let the River Flow, The Tundra Within Me by Sara Margrethe Oskal, and Je’vida, directed by Katja Gauriloff.
