Árru

Maia, a young reindeer herder, lives with her teenage daughter and her brother in a coastal settlement in the remote north of Norway. The camera captures her daily life: herding the reindeer on a snowmobile, repairing fences, a slaughter, traditional festivals. Yet the Sámi minority’s way of life, so closely tied to nature, is under threat from a mining project. While Maia fights back with the help of lawyers and a protest camp, a family secret comes to light. Should Maia defend her ancestors’ land at any cost? Or should she stand by her traumatised brother, jeopardising the unity of her community? The director, Elle Sofe Sara, herself Sámi, is well known in Norway as a choreographer and performance artist. With spontaneous dance sequences and the ancient form of joik singing, she elevates the story into a universal parable about how we deal with our ancestors, traditions, and modern conflicts.