Niillas Holmberg

Iida, an elderly Sámi woman, who has abandoned her roots under the pressure of forced Finnishization, is conflicted between selling her old homestead and hiding her cultural heritage from her niece, as the rural way of life she has suppressed begins to creep back in.

10 Letters to the Future is a documentary film that is a mid-term review in a world of intertwined crises. It is a puzzle, a kaleidoscope that enables a multi-voiced debate in society. The collectively made film was conceived in the era of the Coronavirus, when the reality of global anomalies pierced everything we took for granted. It was a time that caused many to reassess their lives in a new light. What happened to us and what kind of future do we want to be heading towards? Virus researcher, climate activist, political scientist and anti-vaccine protesters see the future challenges facing our society in a very different light. As the virus takes over the world, schoolchildren start collecting letters to be encapsulated in a wooden coffin built by students to be opened more than 50 years from now. The main characters in the documentary write their letters, addressing their loved ones or something unknown in the future.

The experimental documentary depicts the flow of water as a metaphor for Sámi people under pressure in modern times. The film deals with water as a sacred element, pathway and daily source of sustenance for the Sámi people. The poetic essence of the narration comes from Pedar Jalvi, Finland’s first Sámi writer, who describes the connection with water in his poem Muohtačalmmit.