Ancestral lands with reindeer face the threat of a mining project in Árru, the feature directorial debut of choreographer and filmmaker Elle Sofe Sara. And buried beneath the snowy landscapes of the Arctic region of Sápmi, where the Sámi live, the only indigenous people of the European Union, lies family trauma. Sounds like it will take a strong female protagonist to take on such challenges.
That woman is Maia, portrayed by Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska, who stars alongside Simon Issát Marainen, Ayla Gáren Nutti, and Mikkel Gaup. Maia fights to protect her ancestral lands from a looming mining project. Amid protests, she turns to her charismatic uncle Lemme (Gaup) for help. But that only brings back those aforementioned traumas. A synopsis for the movie sums up her dilemma this way: “Maia must choose: save the land at the cost of her family or surrender it to break the silence.”
Árru world premieres in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 16.
The Sámi, who inhabit Sápmi, spanning the Northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula, have traditionally lived off reindeer herding and fishing. Sara’s work blends Sámi physicality, spirituality and joik (traditional song) to explore themes of heritage, connection and resilience, making her a natural storyteller, who co-wrote the screenplay for Árru with Johan Fasting.
Árru was produced by Stær Films and It’s Alive Films, and co-produced by Garagefilm International, with The Yellow Affair handling world sales.
“I come from Guovdageaidnu, a Sámi village where the wind carries memory, and silence is its own kind of language,” Sara says in a director’s statement. “In my world, stories are not always told with words – they are sung through joik, felt through footsteps on frozen earth, and held in the weight of a glance between generations. As a child, I barely spoke. Movement was the first language I truly understood – dance gave voice to emotions I couldn’t yet speak. Joik became my second language. Dance and joik come from deep within, bypassing logic and speaking straight to the intuitive being.”
She describes Árru as “a film about silence, and the cost of keeping it. About the women who carry everything without being asked. And what happens when a daughter dares to speak, and a mother finally sings.”
Concludes the filmmaker: “This story comes from Sápmi, but its heartbeat is universal: the longing to be recognized, the courage to speak the truth, and the possibility of healing – through song, and through the voices of the next generation.”
So sit back and watch a clip from Árru, which THR can exclusively premiere below. Oh yeah, and get ready for those colorful Sámi clothes.