Sámi Blood Takes Dragon Award At Göteborg 2017

On Saturday, the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the 40th Göteborg Film Festival was presented to director Amanda Kernell for Sami Blood (Sameblod). It also received the Sven Nykvist Prize, which went to cinematographer Sophia Olsson.

Sámi Blood tells the story of Sámi teenager Elle Marja (Lene Cecilia Sparrok) who decides to break all ties with her family and culture to seek a new life in Uppsala.

The jury said in their deliberation: “The main character’s journey, the difficult choices and sacrifices she has to make, are not only dramatically well founded, but also manage to tell a gripping story about identity within a firm historical context.”

Also honoured at the festival was Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland, about the pioneering artist and gay icon Touko Laaksonen, which earned the FIPRESCI prize from the International Federation of Film critics.

Meanwhile, the Nordic Film & TV Fund Prize for Best Screenplay went to Norwegian drama Nobel and its head writers, Mette M. Bølstad and Stephen Uhlander.

The jury said: “The script is a precise, well-structured and solid drama that captivated us. The drama is strong, unpredictable and has a new sense of realism. The story is exciting, and works well as a metaphor for the global uncertainty between war and peace.”