A cameraless experimental film brings to life drawings of northern lights created in 1839 and a luohti (a Northern Sámi yoik) by Sami musician Ánnámáret on homeless, wandering spirits - Vuoiŋŋat. The vocals are accompanied and carried by Ilkka Heinonen's jouhikko (Karelian bowed lyre) and Turkka Inkilä's electronic music.
The work is dedicated to the memory of the Sámi ancestors who were exhumed from their graves in burial grounds in Sápmi approximately 100–150 years ago in the name of racist genetic research. Some of the remains of these robbed bodies have only recently been reburied in 2022 in Sápmi in the Inari, Utsjoki, and Nellim territories.
Image source: drawings Louis Bevalet, prints Sigismond Himely, photo Nasjonalmuseet / Ivarsøy, Dag Andre
Marja Viitahuhta is a visual artist and filmmaker whose works range from films, performances and installations to photography and collage. Her works have been screened and exhibited globally and her films have been awarded at film festivals and acquired by several art collections and museums. Since 2019 she has collaborated with a group of musicians: Ánnámáret, an indigenous composer, yoiker and musician whose practice is deeply rooted in the Sápmi, Ilkka Heinonen, a pioneering contemporary player and researcher of jouhikko (the Karelian bowed lyre) and Turkka Inkilä, a sound designer, composer and musician who fluidly transitions between the shakuhachi flute and electric music.
- animation
- Marja Viitahuhta
- production
- Marja Viitahuhta, Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman
- screenwriter
- Marja Viitahuhta