THE SILENCED VOICES HAS LAUNCHED : A HISTORIC SÁMI FILM INIATIVE

THE SILENCED VOICES HAS LAUNCHED :

A HISTORIC SÁMI FILM INIATIVE

The International Sámi Film Institute has launched The Silenced Voices, a major long-term film development initiative bringing together ten Sámi filmmakers and four Impact Producers to develop new film projects connected to the assimilation processes in Sápmi and the Nordic Truth and Reconciliation processes.

The participating filmmakers are Aarni Pieski, Berit Marie Lise Eira, Elle Sofe Sara, Eiril Linge, Johannes Vang, Mattias Persson Suorra, Moa Backe Åstot, Ole-Henrik Lifjell, Paulina Feodoroff and Petter Tuolja Köhler. The impact producers are Pigga Filenius, Jolanda Magga, Kati Eriksen and Lisa Kristensen.

Through both fiction and documentary storytelling, the programme aims to explore personal and collective experiences shaped by assimilation policies affecting Sámi communities. By supporting stories that have long remained unheard, the initiative seeks to create space for reflection, dialogue, and reconciliation in Norway, across the Nordic region, and internationally.

– Film has the power to reach hearts and minds across borders and generations. With The Silenced Voices development program, we are creating a space for Sámi filmmakers to bring forward stories rooted in our shared history to audiences in Sápmi and around the world, says Anne Lajla Utsi.

Mentors in the programme are Amber Morning Star Byars, Alice Quinlan, Nils Gaup, Tine Klint, Bård Kjøge Rønning, Fabien Greenberg, and Siljá Somby.

– With us we have mentors who have been working with major internationally known films, filmmakers and producers, and we look forward to the continued development of the films with our participants, says Utsi.

The participants and mentors gathered in Guovdageadnu, Norway, in mid-March 2026 for several days of intensive project development, masterclasses, and mentoring. The program will continue online with various sessions the following year.

The Silenced Voices combines workshops, mentorship, and the development of a targeted international impact campaign, supporting both documentary and fiction projects rooted in lived experiences across Sápmi. The participants will develop both feature films, shortfilms and documentaries.

The programme is funded by International Sámi Film Institute, Sparebank1 Nord-Norge: Samfunnsløftet, and York University – Curating Indigenous Circumpolar Cultural Sovereignty.