Legal Research and Cinema at the Love & Anarchy Film Festival

Sámi rights were discussed at a screening of the film Árru and a panel discussion held on Tuesday, September 22, as part of the Love & Anarchy Film Festival in Helsinki.

Árru examines the increasing exploitation of land in Sápmi and the pressures caused by land use through a personal, transgenerational story.

The discussion following the screening delved into the film’s themes and, in particular, recent developments and current challenges regarding the rights of Indigenous peoples. What role can science and art play in reconciliation processes? Can institutions and power dynamics be changed?

The discussion, moderated by journalist Tuukka Tuomasjukka, featured Daniela Alaattinoğlu, an associate professor of law, and Aarni Pieski, a Sámi playwright, screenwriter and dramaturg. Contrary to prior announcements, the film’s director, Elle Sofe Sara, was unable to participate in the discussion.

The ERC-funded research project MARCEN, led by Alaattinoğlu, focuses on Sámi truth and reconciliation commissions in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

MARCEN examines how the evolution of rights, state policies, transitional justice and the legal mobilisation of the Sámi people affect the status of the Sámi as an Indigenous people within the legal systems of the Nordic settler states.

The project examines these themes from the perspectives of the rule of law, historical policy changes, truth and reconciliation processes, as well as legal mobilisation.

Difficult Themes and Silence

“It is a very unique experience to live with trauma and be part of the Sámi community,” Pieski highlighted. In his art, Pieski has explored Sámi history and identity, as well as queer perspectives.

“As a legacy of colonialism, the connection to joik and traditional spirituality remains severed for many Sámi people. These forms of embodiment would be important in processing trauma,” Pieski said.

The film had a documentary-like atmosphere. The tension between silence and speech, as well as intergenerational tensions, were strongly present. The younger generation was willing to speak out and challenge injustices which their elders preferred to keep silent about.

Pieski said he recognised the idea raised in the film: What will the Norwegians think?

“I know of cases of abuse within the Sámi community, but people hesitate to talk about them because they fear the entire Sámi community will be stigmatised. In reality, violence and abuse occur in all communities.”

The film also breaks a taboo by depicting a man as the victim of sexual violence.

Árru equates the right to land with bodily integrity, Alaattinoğlu analyses. She has explored the theme of bodily integrity in her monograph Grievance Formation, Rights and Remedies: Involuntary Sterilisation and Castration in the Nordics, 1930s–2020s (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

Referring to land rights, Alaattinoğlu cited the infrastructure, energy and mining projects planned for Sápmi as an example.

“The Sámi face pressure to speak with one voice on these issues, without any disagreements. That would be difficult for any community,” he says.

In Finland, the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its final report in December 2025. The issue made major headlines, but after the report was released, the media and Parliament fell silent, noted host Tuomasjukka.

“For me, the most important part of the truth and reconciliation process has been the restorative experiences within the community,” Pieski said.

The panelists also noted that the publication of the Norwegian Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report was followed by a radio silence. The Swedish report was recently published.

The Finnish report highlighted, among other things, psychological, physical and sexual violence which occurred in residential schools. Keeping in mind that the perpetrators of such abuse may have been representatives of public schools and authorities, it can understandably be difficult for the survivors of such violence to report it to the authorities, Alaattinoğlu noted.

“The Sámi people has very good reasons not to trust state institutions, which the governments should take into account.”

In recent years, there have been significant legal cases involving the Sámi in the Nordic countries, which are being studied as part of the MARCEN project.

“The Sámi have taken an active role in legal mobilisation and have used legal means to advance their demands, which has already influenced legal and social developments,” Alaattinoğlu said.

For example, the Fosen case in Norway and the Girjas case in Sweden led to significant legal rulings, but they did not resolve the underlying social conflicts and have not, at the moment of writing, led to broader structural changes, such as changes in legislation.