Documentary: Historjá –Stitches For Sápmi

See the powerful documentary Historjá – Stitches For Sápmi (dir. Thomas Jackson, Sweden, 2022), depicting world-renowned artist and activist Britta Marakatt-Labba’s battle for her culture against the threats of climate change, presented in coordination with our ongoing exhibition Arctic Highways!

Britta Marakatt-Labba has for decades depicted the indigenous Samí people’s mythology, relation to nature and political struggle, as in her piece Historjá, a 24-meter-long embroidery depicting motifs from Sami history. With small stitches, Marakatt-Labba evokes the history and mythology of the Sami people, as well as stories of colonialism, state-supported racism and political strife. After decades of protesting her people’s rights through art, she is now facing another struggle: the fight against climate change as it threatens traditional ways of life on the Arctic tundra. After generations of family reindeer-herding, will her son be able to carry on the family tradition?

“Nature truly comes alive in this stunningly beautiful story about the Sámi worldview and mythology” (Business Doc Europe); Historjá is a poetic and visually stunning story of indigenous peoples’ struggle against climate change, told through the visual landscape of one of the world’s most sought-after artists, who represented Sapmi and Sweden at the Nordic pavilion in the Venice Biennale, 2022. Winner of Best Documentary Film, Guldbaggen Awards 2023.