The Burning Question of Identity

An Examination of Visual Sovereignty and Self-representation in Sámi Feature Films

Författare

Amalia Pålsson

Summary, in Swedish

Ever since the birth of the film medium, the Sámi people, indigenous to Fennoscandia, have been depicted on film. These early films are ethnographic, made from an outsider perspective, depicting the Sámi as exotic and simple. However, in the 1970s, the Sámi became more involved in the filmmaking process, and in 1987, the first Sámi film, Pathfinder, was made. This shift to Sámi self-representation is examined in this thesis, where films made by Sámi, in Sámi languages and with Sámi themes are included. Looking at all these Sámi feature films, common narratological and visual themes are examined, more specifically through the lens of visual sovereignty, in order to fully comprehend what stories are told from a Sámi insider perspective. Hence, the research illustrates how Sámi languages, culture and iconography are reclaimed through filmmaking processes, and how these cultural themes are widely handled by Sámi filmmakers. This way, this thesis can contribute to Sámi film research, and provide an overview of the existing Sámi films—thus providing results to the Sámi branch of international indigenous film research.

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