A Silent Film Concert Brought Sámi Cultural Heritage to Life in Umeå
On 29 November 2025, Med ackja och ren i Inka Läntas vinterland was presented at Vävenscenen in Umeå as a silent film concert with a newly created live score by Hildá Länsman, Svante Henryson, Tuomas Norvio and Lávre Johan Eira, in collaboration with Umeå Film Festival, Tromsø International Film Festival and Norrlandsoperan.
Originally created in 1926, the film follows Inka Länta and her family in everyday life and during the Jokkmokk market, offering a rare portrayal of Sámi life in northern Sweden. For this presentation, four Sámi musicians from the Barents region created and performed new live music, giving the restored film a contemporary artistic voice almost 100 years after its premiere.
The concert showed how archival material can be reinterpreted through live performance and how historical stories can be made relevant for audiences today. By bringing together film, music and Sámi perspectives in one shared experience, the production created a new way for audiences in Umeå to encounter Sámi cultural heritage in a living, contemporary format.
For Arctic Pulse, this collaboration was an important example of how cross-border partnerships can create new artistic formats while giving greater visibility to Sámi musicians and cultural heritage across the region. It also points toward future collaborations where music, film and Indigenous perspectives can continue to meet new audiences in the Arctic and beyond.