''Jeʹvida'' is a 2023 Finnish Skolt Sámi–language drama film written and directed by

Katja Gauriloff Katja Gauriloff (born 6 December 1972) is a Finnish-Skolts, Skolt filmmaker, director, and one of the owners of the Finnish production company Oktober. Early life and education Gauriloff was born in Inari (village), Inari to a Finnish father and ...

. The film describes the life of a

Skolt Sámi Skolt Sámi (, , ; or , , ) is a Sámi languages, Sámi language that is spoken by the Skolts, with approximately 300 speakers in Finland, mainly in Sevettijärvi and approximately 20–30 speakers of the (Notozero) dialect in an area surround ...

woman called Jeʹvida during the period when her people were being forcibly assimilated into Finnish society, while following the life of Jeʹvida in three different periods.

Background

''Jeʹvida'' is the first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

shot in the Skolt Sámi language. It received monetary support from the International Sámi Film Institute and the

Finnish Film Foundation The Finnish Film Foundation (, ) is an independent Foundation (charity), foundation with the task of supporting and developing Finland, Finnish film production, distribution and exhibition. It is supervised by the Department for Cultural Policy i ...

in 2021. In the film, Gauriloff depicts the discrimination and forced assimilation the Skolts experienced and the resulting mental trauma that still affects them. The director, who is also Skolt, had similar experiences in her childhood.

Plot summary

A chain-smoking elderly Iida () and her relative Sanna ( Seidi Haarla) drive to Lapland to look at an inherited family house, with the intention of cleaning it up to prepare the house for sale. After arriving at the location, the house and its surroundings start to evoke painful memories in Iida, who has experienced mistreatment and forced assimilation into

Finnish culture The culture of Finland combines indigenous heritage, as represented for example by the country's Languages of Finland, national languages Finnish language, Finnish (a Uralic languages, Uralic language) and Swedish language, Swedish (a Germanic ...

due to her being Skolt Sámi. Iida's mind dives deeper into the secrets of the past and she rediscovers her true self, Jeʹvida.

Cast

* Agafia Niemenmaa as young Jeʹvida * Heidi Uʹlljan Gauriloff as the young adult Jeʹvida/Iida * Sanna-Kaisa Palo as the older Jeʹvida/Iida * Heini Wesslin as Jeʹvida's mother * Erkki Gauriloff as Jeʹvida's grandfather * Matleena Fofonoff as Jeʹvida's grandmother * Jarkko Lahti as the teacher * Seidi Haarla as Sanna

Reception

The film had its world premiere in June 2023 at the

Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

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. The film was also shown at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in September of the same year. It was one of three Sámi films present at the festival. Aki Lehti from ' gives the film a rating of 4½ stars out of 5, saying that the film is a "sadly beautiful and touching work of art, a really necessary film about a silent subject." Niina Oisalo of ' gives 4 stars out of 5, describing the film as "a skillfully executed magical realist drama", adding that "the film's breathy, natural rhythm brings out the bonds that unite generations without unnecessary explanation." Niko Ikonen from ' gives the film 3 stars out of 5, comparing the film's subject to the 2016 Swedish film '' Sami Blood'', saying that "unfortunately, ''Jeʹvida'' doesn't really get its message across, and the film's script does not support the weight of such a heavy and multifaceted subject."

References

External links

* *
Je'vida
' at

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