My Fathers’ Daughter, the first Sámi-language feature film, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Egil Pedersen and featuring Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, the film explores themes of identity and heritage.
Bollywood Fever: The upcoming Sámi-language feature film My Fathers’ Daughter is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 8, 2024.
This highly anticipated coming-of-age family dramedy has released a first-look image featuring Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who makes a cameo appearance as himself.
Directed by Egil Pedersen, My Fathers’ Daughter tells the story of Elvira, a confident teenager who believes she was conceived at a Danish fertility clinic.
Elvira daydreams that her father is a famous movie star, specifically imagining Coster-Waldau in the role. However, her dreams are upended when her real biological father unexpectedly enters her life.
While My Fathers’ Daughter marks Pedersen’s debut feature film, he is an accomplished director with a portfolio that includes 18 music videos, 15 short films, and numerous commissioned works and advertisements.
His most recent short film, Koftepolitiet (Indigenous Police), was a satirical comedy that resonated strongly within the Sámi community.
The film is a Norway-Sweden-Finland co-production, brought to life by Rein Film, Paasan, Oktober, Bautafilm, and Filmpool Nord, with Pluto Film handling international sales.
The project received significant support from Neo, a program under The Norwegian Film Institute that finances debut films by talented directors.
Pedersen expressed gratitude for Neo’s backing, noting that “without Neo, the film wouldn’t have been made.”
Pedersen also highlighted the importance of the Publikum audience insight program, which uses artificial intelligence and human analysis to expand the potential of the story.
“For me, I became more daring in how I used political and other references from the real world,” Pedersen explained.
My Fathers’ Daughter is deeply personal for Pedersen, who has infused the narrative with themes that have impacted his life. “I always knew that I was Sámi, but as a child, I never felt good enough to be a real Sámi among other Sámi people. Later, as a teenager, I experienced racially motivated violence because I looked like a Sámi,” he shared.
After graduating from The Norwegian Film School, Pedersen doubted whether he would be accepted as a Sámi filmmaker, but the International Sámi Film Institute eventually embraced him as part of their community. “During the 2010s, I slowly transformed with doubt and hesitation into a Sámi filmmaker,” Pedersen said.
My Fathers’ Daughter will debut in the Discovery section of TIFF, marking a significant milestone for Sámi-language cinema and Pedersen’s burgeoning career as a feature filmmaker.
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