FLAHERTY NYC
PRESENTS SEASON 24 | FALL 2022
still from Nivi Pederson’s PILLUARNEQ ERSIGIUNNAARPARA courtesy of the filmmaker
film notes
image credit Aqqalu Berthelsen
Sunna Nousuniemi
BOSO MU RUOVTTOLUOTTA
(BREATHE ME BACK TO LIFE)
2021, 24 mins, digital
Boso mu ruovttoluotta is a film about the survival struggle of the director, the protagonist of the film Sunna, after being the victim of sexual violence. The film follows Sunna's journey towards the moment when she can finally try to continue her life. The recovery is also supported by a crafting project, which has roots in the Sámi culture, closely connected to the collective effort of the Sámi people to restore their spiritual heritage.
Nivi Pederson
PILLUARNEQ ERSIGIUNNAARPARA
(HAPPINESS SCARES ME NO MORE)
2020, 70 mins, digital
Gukki Nuka (53) is an artist and is now going back to his hometown Uummannaq, where his abuse took place. Kornelia (24) is struggling with anxiety today but has broken the vicious circle and is fighting to get a life with the freedom she herself wanted as a child: the freedom to dream and freedom to fight for a secure life. This is a freedom that both Gukki Nuka and Kornelia have dreamt of. Through interviews with four mobile task force psychologists, the situations and struggles of Gukki Nuka and Kornelia are not only put into context but the whole theme of sexual abuse is carefully and comprehensibly reframed.
The post-screening discussion will be lead by media artist and educator Sarah Ema Friedland.
*** These films touch on sexual violence. We are committed to providing a safe space for all. We are grateful to the DOVE (Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies) program at the New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital for providing professional support on site for anyone in need. ***
filmmakers
Sunna Nousuniemi - Niillasaš Jovnna Máreha Juhani Sunná Máret (born 1993) is a Sámi artist, curator, storyteller and DJ from Anár, Sápmi. With her work, Nousuniemi pursues intergenerational, communal healing by exploring and artistically expressing the dimensions of her heritage using film, discussion and music as her tools.
Director Nivi Pedersen (b.1989) is a Greenlandic filmmaker based in Nuuk, Greenland. Wanting to portray different aspects of Greenland and the Greenlandic culture for both a national and an international audience she started Nivaara Films in 2017 and her filmography includes documentary and fiction directing as well as acting.
moderator
Sarah Ema Friedland is an NYC-based film and media artist and educator. Operating on a firm belief that reality has been messed with since people started telling stories and writing histories, her work is rooted in non-fiction but often uses the vocabularies of speculative fiction and fantasy to tweak and re-imagine reality. She is currently working on a feature documentary titled Lyd, which she is co-directing with Rami Younis, and which was selected to pitch at the DocCorner Market at the Cannes Film Festival and in Days of Cinema in Ramallah. Friedland is a member of the Meerkat Media Collective and the Director of the MDOCS Storyteller’s Institute at Skidmore College where she is also a Teaching Professor in the MDOCS Program.
