Selected in the International Series Competition of the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) and created by Åse Kathrin Vuolab who directed the series together with Pål Jackman, A Sámi Wedding revolves, as its title suggests, around the organisation of a wedding which is anything but ordinary. Over the course of eight episodes (each lasting 30 minutes), the Norwegian series’ protagonist, Garen (played magnificently by Sara Margrethe Oskal), does everything in her power to save her family’s honour by organising a wedding between her son Ailo (Per John P Eira) and her wealthy rival’s daughter in the space of a single month. Set in Kautokeino, a snow-covered town in northern Norway, the series respectfully celebrates Sámi culture whilst also highlighting its paradoxes and the burden that comes with carrying on an ancestral tradition which sometimes clashes violently with reality.

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Ignoring the wishes of her son who would like a simple ceremony with just a few close guests, Garen sets out to achieve the impossible: a real Sámi wedding of the kind that would normally require at least a year of preparation and the help of entire families. The problem, however, is that there are very few people she can actually count on, and none of them are easy to win over. These consist of her two brothers – Harry (Ánte Siri), who lives in New York with his African-American partner, and Johan (young Ivan Aleksander Sara Buljo), a kind of Don Juan of the far north – and her sister, rebellious Belle (Inga Marja Utsi, in her first acting performance). What makes these anti-heroes so incredibly affecting are their many imperfections and their shameless honesty. The chaos they sometimes unwittingly create and the sense of humour that defines them, help keep the audience engaged from start to finish. Their dark side sets A Sámi Wedding apart from productions like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, steering it more towards treacherous ground and thorny themes, such as racism, homophobia, sexual violence and cultural appropriation.

The cast – mostly consisting of actors of Sámi origin, often in their first screen roles – helps the series to align closely, sincerely and authentically with its subject, and confirms the filmmakers’ desire to depict the traditions of the indigenous peoples of northern Norway with respect and accuracy. But this doesn’t prevent them – and this is another of A Sámi Wedding’s strengths – from addressing the paradoxes of this culture which has its fair share of sexist traditions, where social hierarchies prevent the less privileged from enjoying the same advantages as the rich, where gossip is omnipresent and where every misstep comes at a high price. A Sámi Wedding is a highly entertaining comedy which also turns into a darker and more mysterious work, and it’s precisely this ambiguity which makes it unique, surprising and innovative. Will Garen manage to organise the wedding of the century? And if so, at what cost?

A Sámi Wedding was produced by Mer Film, Tordenfilm and Forest People, and is distributed worldwide by REinvent Studios.