Arctic Indigenous Filmmakers on Climate Change: First-Hand Perspectives

06/21/24 • 43 min

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by Curator and Impact Producer Nadia Denton, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

Featuring the insights from film creatives and professionals from Sápmi, Canada and Yakutia, this episode will shine a light on the ground-breaking work of the Witness Program, a film training and mentorship programme for emerging Indigenous filmmakers from the Circumpolar Arctic that is the fruit of a collaboration between Telefilm Canada and the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund (AIFF).

Designed as a professional development opportunity that allows Arctic Indigenous filmmakers to share their authentic perspectives on how climate change is affecting their communities through their own storytelling and in their own filmic and spoken languages, the programme supported a first cohort of 6 filmmakers who produced 5 films and were mentored by 3 Indigenous long-feature film producers and filmmakers, under the guidance of Liisa Holmberg, CEO of the AIFF.

These conversations unpack the way in which these first-hand narratives convey the sense of urgency of climate change which Arctic Indigenous communities have been witnessing for decades and the ways in which their filmmaking practices can embody acts of resistance, resilience and language revitalisation.

Key to understanding these films is the notion of a worldview. The speakers, Liisa Holmberg, filmmakers Sadetło Scott and Svetlana Romanova and mentor Danis Goulet, all share their experiences of how their communities’ worldview, connection and deep relationship to the land are expressed in these and other films, which they made in a context of challenges to the land and Indigenous storytelling through the compounded effects of climate change and colonization.

Film commissioner Liisa Holmberg (she/her) is working in International Sámi Film Institute (ISFI) in Norway. Liisa Holmberg is a Sámi film maker originally from Finnish side of the Saamiland. She has worked in the film business as a producer, production manager and film consultant from the year 1994. Big part of her work as a film commissioner is working internationally with Indigenous film makers in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Sápmi and Russia to establish an Arctic Indigenous Film Fund (AIFF). Holmberg is a member of European Film Academy from the year 2018.

Sadetło Scott (she/her) is a Tłı̨chǫ Dene filmmaker, who grew up and lives in Sǫǫ̀mbak’è, Denendeh (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada). Sadetło has a B.A. in Indigenous Governance and a Certificate in Heritage and Culture from Yukon University, and Certificates in Motion Picture Production and Cinematography from Capilano University. Sadetło's work, such as “Edaxàdets'eetè” aims to educate on the importance of Indigenous language and the Indigenous experience.

Svetlana Romanova (Sakha/Even) is an artist and filmmaker born in Yakutsk, the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located south of the Arctic Circle. Her practice centers on the importance of Indigenous visual language, particularly in the Arctic regions and gravitates towards critical self historization.

Writer/director Danis Goulet’s films have screened at festivals around the world including Berlinale, Sundance, MoMA and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Her award-winning feature NIGHT RAIDERS premiered in the Panorama section at Berlinale and also screened at TIFF in 2021. For television, Danis has recently directed for the acclaimed FX series RESERVATION DOGS. She is Cree/Metis, originally from northern Saskatchewan.

The host Nadia Denton is a film industry specialist with over a decade of experience as a Curator, Impact Producer and Author. Her focus has been on cinema of the African diaspora, she specialises in Nigerian Cinema and is author of two books The Black British Filmmakers Guide to Success and The Nigerian Filmmaker’s Guide to Success: Beyond Nollywood. Nadia is also an official V&A African Heritage Tour Guide.

As a Partner of Choice, Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation dedicated to the success of Canada’s audiovisual industry, fostering access and excellence by delivering programs that support cultural resonance and audience engagement. With a lens of equity, inclusivity and sustainability, Telefilm bolsters dynamic companies and a range of creative talent at home and around the world. Telefilm also makes recommendations...

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Nostradamus 2024: Paradox of Hope

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by media industry analyst Johanna Koljonen, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

The 2024 Nostradamus Report, titled "Paradox of Hope," delves into the myriad challenges facing the film and TV industries, highlighting broken business models, distribution woes, and the impact of new technologies like virtual production and generative AI. Against a backdrop of global crises, including the climate emergency, the industry grapples with unsustainable practices and the dominance of a few major players. However, amidst the chaos, there's a glimmer of hope as audiences show a preference for quality storytelling. This conversation emphasizes the need for collaboration, innovation in distribution, and a shift towards audience-centric content creation to ensure a sustainable future for the industry. It calls for a departure from competition towards an ecosystem mindset, where shared resources and collaboration foster growth for all.

Tabitha Jackson is a consultant and film executive. With a 30-year career in film, arts, and public broadcasting, she is committed to the independent voice, the socio-cultural power of cinema, and a more expansive set of makers, forms and audiences. Recent roles include Director of the Sundance Film Festival, Director of the Sundance Documentary Film Program, and Commissioning Editor/EP (Channel4/Film4). Tabitha is currently a Shorenstein Documentary Film Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The host Johanna Koljonen is a media analyst, broadcaster, and experience designer. She is the author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report on the near future of the screen industries, which is in its 11th year. She lectures internationally on changes in the media sector, and on participation and narrative design. Her background is in public service broadcasting; in 2011, she received the Swedish Grand Journalism Award in the Innovator category.

This podcast episode has been developed in collaboration with the Göteborg Film Festival's Nostradamus initiative. The 2024 Nostradamus Report Paradox of Hope is available as a free download thanks to support from its partners BoostHGB, Kulturakademin, Region Västra Götaland and the Nordisk Filmen TV Fund.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the first international film market of the year, where the film industry starts its business. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast puts a spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The year-round podcast is produced in cooperation with Goethe-Institut and co-funded by Creative Europe MEDIA.

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Spotlight Edition: A Personal Conversation with Beki Probst

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by Matthijs Wouter Knol, this episode spotlights an important figure in the history of the EFM through a personal conversation and a journey through time.

This special episode revolves around the former EFM director Beki Probst through a conversation that took place during the Cannes Film Festival between her and Matthijs Wouter Knol, who himself has been in the seat as director of the EFM as a successor. Beki depicts her journey through the film industry with anecdotes from her life in the film industry, from her starting out as a young journalist traveling to Cannes, to suddenly finding herself in Berlin.

She shares stories of people she crossed paths with along the way, how the Berlinale took place right after the fall of the wall and draws a picture of the future industry through her own expectations and lived experiences. This all adds to the portrayal of the woman who came to found the European Film Market as we know it today.

Beki Probst is considered the grande dame of the film world. Under her direction, the European Film Market has developed into one of the largest and most important trade fairs for cinema on the international scene. Beki Probst was born in Istanbul, where she first worked as a journalist after completing her studies in law and journalism. In 1960, Probst moved to Switzerland, where she became the general manager of the Probst-Kinobetriebe, known today as Quinnie Cinemas. From 1981 to 1988, Beki Probst served as the Berlin International Film Festival's official delegate for Turkey and Greece. Up until 1995, she also served as a member of the selection committee for Locarno International Film Festival. From 1988 to 2014, Beki Probst was the director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market – Probst rebranded the former “film fair” as the European Film Market and subsequently transformed the event into one of the most significant industry meet-ups for the international film business. In addition, from 1988 to 1996 Beki Probst was artistic director of the Geneva-based festival “Stars de Démain”. She has served as a jury member on multiple occasions at international film festivals, including appearances in Toronto, Jerusalem and San Sebastián. In 1992 Beki Probst was decorated as “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture, was honoured with the Berlinale Camera in 2018 and in 2019 with the Honorary Award of the Swiss Film Award. In 2024 she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz am Bande der Bundesrepublik Deutschland).

Since 2021, Dutch-born Matthijs Wouter Knol is the CEO and Director of the European Film Academy. Before reading and graduating with an MA in Contemporary History at Leiden University and the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome, he worked as a magazine editor and journalist. From 2001 onwards, he worked in Amsterdam as creative and associate producer on 30 award-winning documentary films, with renowned directors such as Heddy Honigmann, Maria Ramos, and Mani Kaul. For ARTE, he co-produced a digital edition of 40 re-mastered works of Dutch documentarian Johan van der Keuken, which was awarded the Prix Cahiers du Cinéma (2006). After a short stint at IDFA (2007-2008), he formed for 12 years part of the senior Berlinale team, first as Head of Programming of Berlinale Talents (2008-2014), then as Director of the European Film Market (2014-2020). Apart from launching several new training and industry platforms over the course of his career, Matthijs is an advocate for more Diversity and Inclusion. He initiated D&I schemes at both EFM and the European Film Academy, and was one of the founders of the Anti-Racist Taskforce for European Film (ARTEF). He teaches and coaches at various film schools and is a regular moderator and speaker at international film industry events. Matthijs has been part of the main jury at the festivals of Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, Istanbul and Locarno.