Je’Vida

As aging Iida readies her Lapland childhood home for sale, she must confront her past and the government-sanctioned, forced assimilation of her people—the Indigenous Sámi of Finland—in this starkly lensed, generations-spanning melodrama that asks us to consider who and what we leave behind.When Iida travels with her niece Sanna back to the remote house she grew up in, their intention is to simply clean up the property to sell it. But as a native Sámi woman, being in her childhood home evokes buried memories for Iida, including those spent fishing with her grandfather. And as they walk the grounds she is flooded with the ghosts of her past. Forced to assimilate to Finnish culture in a re-education boarding school with cruel and racist teachers, Iida has been largely silent about her family’s roots for years. Frustrated with her aunt’s refusal to talk about the past, Sanna demands to know more about their history, but some things are better left in the past for Iida. The very first film to be made in the native Skolt Sámi dialect, spoken by only about 300 people, JE’VIDA is a poignant story that travels through time to highlight the plight and resilience of the native Sámi people in Finland, a struggle that echoes through Indigenous communities around the world. —G.S. Content Warning: This film contains material that may be difficult for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.