Sameblod

Sweden, Denmark, Norway

Synopsis

Elle Marja, 14, is a reindeer-herding Sámi girl. Exposed to the racism of the 1930's and race biology examinations at her boarding school she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this other life she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.

Director's Statement

There´s a lost generation who grew up in the same kind of sami boarding schools as my family did and then left everything behind and became Swedish.
Sameblod is declaration of love to this lost generation – completely told from Elle Marjas perspective. I wanted to make a film where we see the sami society from within. A film where we experience this dark part of Swedish history in a subjective and physical way. A film with yolk and blood.

Director's Biography

Amanda Kernell was born in 1986 in Umeå in northern Sweden with a Sami father and a Swedish mother. She is a trained director of The National Film School of Denmark and their 4-year directing program and has since 2006 made several award-winning short films such as “Stoerre Vaerie”, which has won awards as Best Swedish Short Film at both Uppsala Short Film Festival and Gothenburg Film Festival 2015 and was nominated for the Swedish Academy Award “Guldbaggen”. Before film school Amanda studied scriptwriting at The Nordic Author School Biskops-Arnö and she attended Filmpool Nord’s course “Writing low-budget feature film”.
“Sami Blood” (2016) was her feature film debut and is produced by Lars G Lindström, Nordisk Film Production. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2016 and won the Europa Cinemas Label for best European film. The film has since then won several awards including The Special Jury Prize at Tokyo International Film Festival and the prize for Best Nordic Film/Dragon Award at the Gothenburg International Film Festival 2017. The film was also shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 in the Spotlight section and at the Berlinale in their NATIVe section.

Filmography:

2017 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU KINGEN
2016 SAMEBLOD
2015 STOERRE VAERIE
2014 PARADISET
2013 THE ASSOCIATION OF JOY
2012 DEN LILLE TALIBANER
2010 DET KOMMER ALDRIG ATT GÅ ÖVER
2009 ATT DELA ALLT
2009 SPEL
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Amanda Kernell

Written by: Amanda Kernell

Produced by: Lars G Lindström

Cinematography: Sophia Olsson

Editing: Anders Skov

Production Design: Olle Remaeus

Costume Design: Viktoria Mattila, Sara Svonni

Make-Up & Hair: Sari Nuttunen

Original Score: Kristian Eidnes Andersen

Sound Design: Brian Dyrby, Mira Falk

Cast: Lene Cecilia Sparrok (Elle Marja), Mia Erika Sparrok (Njenna), Maj Doris Rimpi (Elle Marja/Christina), Julius Fleischanderl (Niklas)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2017