Katja Gauriloff's Je’vida becomes first feature shot in the Skolt Sámi language

2023 has been quite a historic year for cinema with many great feature films making their way to the screens, but Katja Gauriloff's Je’vida has achieved something phenomenal by becoming the first film in history to be shot completely in the Skolt Sámi language, a near-endangered language with approximately only 300 speakers in England.

The Finnish-Skolt filmmaker came out with Je’vida at Helsinki’s industry event, Finnish Film Affair, last year. The film is also set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, making another piece of history by being the only Skolt Sámi language to open at the prestigious event.

Ahead of the Toronto Film Festival screening, Katja Gauriloff spoke about Je’vida to Variety, giving some unique insight into the film and the procedure of making it. She also spoke about the language of the film:

"It’s endangered: we have only 300 speakers. There is maybe one village where it’s still in everyday use, which also influenced casting. But we are doing everything we can to keep it alive....It was a compromise, of course, because I had to be realistic. But also, we are talking about people who are changing cultures. These two women are fully Finnish, so they shared their characters’ confusion. That being said, I would love to make a film with an all-Sámi cast one day."

She also revealed some of the intricacies of the filming of Je’vida while speaking to Variety.

---

"I was inspired by old photos of my people and my family": Katja Gauriloff on making Je’vida

Image via Twitter

When a film is based around such a tiny community with so little to hold on to, it is quite a difficult job for a filmmaker to get the best out of the community.

But Katja Gauriloff still tried her best to base a story around this small endangered community in the native language. This meant that she had to scout for actors who could speak the tongue, a difficult affair for a language with only about 300 native speakers. She told Variety:

"Many of the actors are my relatives. There are so few of us....It’s a huge problem in our community. There are all these people who moved away. Some didn’t even know they were Sámi, because their parents hid it from them. My mother never spoke Sámi to me, but at least she told me the stories. She never let me forget."

She added about her influences:

"I was inspired by old photos of my people and my family. Very beautiful, but always taken by the outsiders, the researchers, the travelers. I guess I wanted to reclaim them."

Katja Gauriloff also revealed how her previous film, Kaisa, contrasts with this one to narrate the story of the community. She added:

"There is continuity between these two films. ‘Kaisa’ took place before the Second World War, this one happens after. They both show what happened to us. It’s a different, but equally personal story."

She concluded by reinstating the importance of her film, especially to the community that is slowly losing its identity to changes around the globe. She concluded:

"It’s important for these kids to see a film in their own language, it’s important to have hope. We do, despite so many threats. Hope is important, but we have to work for it."

Je’vida will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.