Sámi Film Institute’s Anne-Lajla Utsi to Receive First-Ever WIFTI Peace Prize: ‘We Have to Hold Onto Hope’ (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comMarta Balaga International Sámi Film Institute’s managing director Anne-Lajla Utsi will now add “trailblazer” to her résumé as the recipient of the first-ever Women in Film and Television International Peace Prize.
The award ceremony will take place on Sept. 23 during the WIFTI Helsinki Summit. The same week, WIFT Finland will present its digital “Equality Tool” for the film and TV industry to the participants at the Finnish Film Affair. “The goal is to give this prize to someone who is a good ambassador for values that embrace inclusion, sustainability and peace,” says Helene Granqvist, outgoing WIFTI president.
She added that Utsi will be awarded for her “amazing and tireless” commitment to spreading Sámi stories around the world. “Her work symbolizes the very core of the WIFTI Peace Prize.” “As Indigenous people in the Nordic countries, we had to deal with hard assimilation policies, trying to erase our language, culture and identity.
These policies are still casting shadows today,” Utsi tells Variety. “It’s a big question for all of us: Are we going to reconcile?
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