BRACE YOUR HEART SELECTED FOR SAN SEBASTIÁN’S OFFICIAL COMPETITION

BRACE YOUR HEART SELECTED FOR SAN SEBASTIÁN’S OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Amanda Kernell’s Brace Your Heart / Garrat du váimmu has been selected for the Official Competition at the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it will compete for the festival’s highest award, the Golden Shell.

The film will have its European premiere in San Sebastián in September, following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). At TIFF, the film is selected for the Platform Competition.

For Sámi Cinema, the film’s selection for two major international competitions marks an important moment for the entire Sámi film community.

“Toronto and San Sebastián is a remarkable international launch for Brace Your Heart. Competing on two of the world’s most prestigious festival stages is a major achievement for Amanda Kernell and the entire team behind the film,” says Anne Lajla Utsi, Managing Director of the International Sámi Film Institute.

Brace Your Heart / Garrat du váimmu is written and directed by Amanda Kernell and produced by Eva Åkergren for Nordisk Film Production Sweden. The international co-production includes the Sámi production company Forest People, with co-producers Lisa Marie Kristensen and Per-Josef Idivuoma. The film is a co-production between Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Bulgaria.

The San Sebastián selection marks another international milestone for Forest People. In 2025, Kristensen and Idivuoma co-produced the Sámi drama series A Sámi Wedding / Heajastallan, which had its world premiere in TIFF’s Primetime programme. Brace Your Heart brings Forest People back to Toronto for a second consecutive year and marks the company’s first film in the Official Selection at San Sebastián.

“Sámi cinema is making its mark internationally, and this also reflects how far Sámi cinema has come. We are seeing a new generation of Sámi actors, filmmakers and producers bringing bold, ambitious stories to the global stage. Our stars, filmmakers and producers are working at the highest international level, bringing Sámi stories and perspectives to audiences around the world. This is an exciting moment for our industry, and one that reaches far beyond a single film. It is an important moment for our entire film community,” says Utsi.

About Brace Your Heart

Production by: Nordisk Film Production Sweden, in co-production with Forest People (Sápmi/Norway), Compass Films (Iceland), Invictus (Bulgaria), Nordisk Film Production Denmark, Filmpool Nord, SVT and Film i Väst.
Cast: Elli Sara Valkeapää, Andte Gaup-Juuso, Vincent Niia
Ejva inherits her late father’s reindeer herd. As she struggles to keep the herd thriving, local leader Heaika falls for her, and though hesitant, she feels compelled to accept. But everything changes when Nejla, Heaika’s cousin, arrives, and Ejva discovers true love for the first time. Betrayed and jealous, Heaika reacts harshly, leaving Ejva with a condition that makes her hands shake uncontrollably, threatening her ability to care for the herd.

The Toronto International Film Festival takes place 10–20 September 2026, followed by the San Sebastián International Film Festival 18–26 September 2026.

Main photo: Lead Elli Sara Valkeapää in Brace your heart. Photo by Sophia Olsson.