SÁMI FILMS IN COMPETITION THIS AUTUMN

Sámi films compete in Germany and France, and two Sámi short films receive awards

Three Sámi films compete at the Nordic Film Days Lübeck this week, Brace Your Heart competes for the Golden Atlas in Arras, and two Sámi short films have received awards in Turkey and California.

Three Sámi films in competition in Lübeck

At the 68th Nordic Film Days Lübeck (4 to 8 November 2026), Árru (2026), directed by Elle Sofe Sara, and Brace Your Heart (Garrat du váimmu, 2026), directed by Amanda Kernell, compete in the Narrative Competition. The main award is the NDR Film Prize, the festival’s largest (12,500 euros last year). Árru, Sara’s feature debut, can also win the prize for Best Feature Film Debut.

The documentary Let Our Mountains Live (La fjella leve, 2026), directed by Håvard Bustnes and co-written and co-produced with Johannes Vang and Kati Eriksen, competes for the Documentary Film Prize (5,000 euros last year).

The festival also presents a Homage curated by ISFI Director Anne Lajla Utsi, who receives the festival’s Honorary Award on 4 November. Read more about Sámi cinema in Lübeck.

Brace Your Heart competes for the Golden Atlas in Arras

Brace Your Heart is one of nine European films competing for the Golden Atlas at the 27th Arras Film Festival in France (6 to 15 November 2026). The prize comes with a 12,000 euro grant for the film’s release in French cinemas. The film has already received the Platform Special Jury Award in Toronto, Kernell won the Silver Shell for Best Director in San Sebastián, and the film is shortlisted for the European Film Awards. Read more on Cineuropa.

Award for Hidden Steps in Turkey

The Skolt Sámi short film Hidden Steps (Siõrškuäđam, 2025), directed by Laura Feodoroff and Kati Kallio, has won Best European Culture Film at the Indigenous Culture Film Festival (InCuFF) in Turkey. In the film, Laura, who grew up outside the Sámi region, turns to the quadrille dance to connect with her Skolt Sámi heritage. See the announcement on Instagram.

Award of Merit for Oahpes Bahá

The short film Oahpes Bahá (2025), directed by Vegard Bjørsmo and Silje Bürgin-Borch, has received an Award of Merit in the Indigenous Storytelling Short Film category at the Catalina Film Festival in California. The film follows 17-year-old Elli Anne from Kárášjohka as her dreams are put to the test. Read more about Oahpes Bahá.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers!