Sámi culture under the spotlight with Duottar studios and Nils Gaup film The Riot

The event was attended by the President of the Sámi Parliament in Norway Silje Karine Muotka, and hosted by Liisa Holmberg, film commissioner and Anne Lajla Utsi, managing director of the International Sámi Film Institute (ISFI).

‘Duottar’ -which stands for ‘Tundra’ in Sámi language, is indeed located in the middle of the Arctic tundra, on the outskirts of the Guovdageaidnu village, a two-hour drive from Kautokeino. The village is a creative hub with music, theatre and festivals celebrating the Sámi culture.

The brand-new studios offer professional sound recording with 5.1 pre and post-production facilities, dubbing services and two edit suites for rental. A Digital Talent hub at the Studios is also available to young local talents, who can hone their skills in digital technology and explore new media storytelling.

“This studio is a big step for us in building a sustainable and innovative Sámi film industry,” said Utsi, who also thanked the round of financiers Sámediggi-Sametinget (the Sámi Parliament of Norway), Innovasjon Norway, Kautokeino Kommune and Sparebank1-Nordic Norge Samfunnsløftet.

As part of the event, ISFI organised the seminar “Our stories – Our future” in collaboration with the Sámi University of Applied Sciences, where Sámi filmmakers were invited to present their upcoming projects to local and Nordic film representatives. The Sámi day was attended among others by Netflix representatives Claire Willats, Director of International Original film Nordics, her colleague Malte Forssell, Director of Physical Production Nordics and Nordisk Film & TV Fond CEO Liselott Forsman.

Commenting on the event, Forsman said: "The International Sámi Film Institute celebrated the opening of the new studio in Kautokeino, with a very well organised Sámi film event, which opened important windows to the established and upcoming talents and the professional, global networking of the indigenous film communities, also introducing the upcoming local film and media education.

"The six highly professional pitches by filmmakers Egil Pedersen, Amanda Kernell, Elle Sofe Sara, Suwi West, Lisa Marie Kristensen and Sara Margrete Oskal, presented authentic stories and renewing formats. The determined work of the film institute's film commissioner Liisa Holmberg and Managing Director Anne Lajla Utsi points strongly to the future. At the Fund, we also have noted a change happening since 2021, with multiple high level Sámi projects applying and earning support both in the fiction and the documentary field," said Forsman.

The Riot-Biggest Northern Norway production
While Nils Gaup’s 1987 Oscar-nominated Sámi language film Pathfinder, was cited at the Duottar Studios launch, the Norwegian director of Sámi origin almost simultaneously announced with SF Studios, the start of his next mega-project The Riot (Sulis in Norwegian) a €5.2m epic historical drama to be distributed by the Scandinavian giant.

The Norwegian /Swedish co-production between Storyline NOR and Götafilm, Sweden, is described in a statement, as ‘the biggest production by a northern Norwegian production company ever”.

The story based on script by Christopher Grøndahl, (Børning, Dark Woods) relates the origins of the labour movement in the early 20^th century, and workers’ rights in the mining city of Sulis (or Sulitjelma), nicknamed Lapland’s Hell. "The Riot is a miniature of how greed, the exploitation of humans and nature lead society in the wrong direction. We want to make a film that shows that people can achieve great things when they stand together ", said Kautokeino-born Gaup, who was one of the first Sámi filmmaker to direct a feature film.

Headlining the cast are Swedish actors Otto Fahlgren (Beartown) and Simon J. Berger (Margrete- Queen of the North, Exit) and their Norwegian counterparts Alexandra Gjerpen (July 22, Norsemen), Mads Sjøgård Pettersen (Home for Christmas, State of Happiness), Stig Henrik Hoff (Beforeigners) and Heidi Ruud Ellingsen.

Filming started this week in Northern Norway at Film Camp Målselv, and will continue at Sulitjelma, outside of Fauske, Nordland county.

The mega-project produced by Storyline NOR’s Tom Vidar Karlsen and Trond Eliassen, is created in association with Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods, Studio Locomotive, FIlmCamp, Filmfond Nord, Film i Väst, Filminvest, and support from the Swedish Film Institute. SF Studios will handle the release in Scandinavia, with REInvent Film International handling global sales. The premiere is set for 2023.