The Kautokeino Rebellion (Kautokeino-opprøret)

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The Kautokeino Rebellion
Original title	Kautokeino-opprøret
Type	Features
Genre	Drama
Director	Nils Gaup
Short summary	Short 1 For centuries the northern Scandinavia has been inhabited by the native sami population and their reindeers. Set in 1852, modernisation is about to enter the desolate village of Kautokeino where authority is held by the ruthless and prosperous liquor dealer Ruth. One of the native tribes, led by young woman Elen, refuses to pay their unjust debt to Ruth, leading to one of the most dramatic episodes in northern Scandinavian history. Short 2 For centuries the windswept mountain plateau of northern Scandinavia has been inhabited by the native sami population and their reindeers. But modernisation is about to enter the desolate village of Kautokeino where the authority is held by the prosperous and ruthless liquor dealer Ruth, staring Mikael Persbrandt. One of the native tribes, led by the young woman Elen, refuses to pay their unjust debt to Ruth. Without a trial, Ruth manages to imprison most of Elen’s tribe, leaving Elen alone to take care of the reindeers. Elen gets help to set up a trial in which the men are released, but Ruth claims ownership of the tribe’s reindeers to cover the cost of the trial. Loosing the basis of their lives, Elen and her tribe have little choice but to oppose to Ruth’s claim, leading to one of the most dramatic episodes in northern Scandinavian history.
Summary	It is winter in the village of Kautokeino in northern Norway. The year is 1852. Elen comes down from the mountain plateau to the general store to fetch her husband, Mathis. Ruth, the merchant, refuses to let Elen take the supplies Mathis has bought, since Mathis has accrued a substantial drinking debt. Mathis is drunk and causes trouble, and only his brother Aslak manages to keep Ruth's bookkeeper Bucht from beating Mathis to a pulp. To make up for the debt, Ruth and Bucht butcher ten of Mathis and Elen's reindeer. Aslak's job is to pick up supplies for Ruth in Karesuando, and he has also smuggled liquor from Finland for him. When he sees how his brother Mathis is humiliated, and when Ruth demands that Aslak transport the freshly butchered animals, Aslak refuses, and Ruth fires him. Elen packs her drunk husband into their sled and goes to the church in Karesuando. The revavalist preacher Laestadius has gotten many men to stop drinking, and Mathis also becomes a convert. He stops drinking, to the joy of Elen and their six-year-old son Little Aslak. Aslak and his friend Mons start their own business. They sell merchandise directly to the siidas (Sami communities) on the mountain plateau, and Ruth loses customers. Ruth reports Aslak and Mons, who do not have a trading permit, and the sheriff confiscates their merchandise. Some of those who drink, finance their stays at the saloon by stealing and butchering reindeer. Elen and Mathis are also victims of this, and Aslak reports Ruth for illegal liquor sales. Ruth calls in a lawyer that convinces Aslak to withdraw his complaint, if Ruth will withdraw his complaint against Aslak. Ruth's business continues suffering as Elen brings Laestadius' message to more and more of the Sami people. This new revival is threatening liquor sales, so Ruth and his lawyer play the ball over to the church. The minister Stockfleth comes to Kautokeino and bans the heathen revival meetings that Elen now leads. After a confrontation with Stockfleth, Aslak, Mons, and Mathis are shackled and imprisoned in Tromsø. Around the same time, Elen's reindeer break out of of their enclosure. Elen and Little Aslak manage to gather some people to help them, and together they also manage to allow the imprisoned men to stand trial. The people are beginning to revolt against the authorities, and a warning example must be set. The trial against the men is a farce. Even Elen is tried and convicted, but manages to escape. Aslak, Mons, and Mathis are released from prison, but Ruth and his cronies claim that to cover fines and legal costs, Elen's entire herd must be butchered. It is now a matter of survival or ruin for Elen, Mathis, Aslak, and several others. Together they go to Kautokeino for the final showdown. In the bloody battle that ensues Ruth and Bucht are killed, and Aslak burns down the general store. Someone has called in assistance from the neighboring town, and a large number appears. Aslak surrenders to the superior force. The result of the trial is long prison sentences for several of the Sami. Elen spent 15 years in prison. Aslak and Mons were sentenced to death and beheaded. Himself a descendant of an executed rebel, director Nils Gaup shoots The Kautokeino Rebellion (Kautokeino-opprøret), a NOK 53.6 million epic based on a real-life event in 1852 Gaup, whose Oscar-nominated feature, Pathfinder (Ofelas/Veiviseren/1987), was based on a 12th-century Lapp legend, has returned to Sami country for The Kautokeino Rebellion, currently shooting at the former military – now film – camp of Holmen in Målselv, Northern Norway. Holmen stands in for the village of Kautokeino anno 1852 - with 30 houses, church and grocery. In 1852, on the backdrop of a religious awakening, a group of 35 Samis – outraged by years of subjugation – staged a riot at Kautokeino, killing the sheriff and the merchant, and flogging the clergyman. Two years later in Alta, two of the leaders were decapitated, and buried without heads. After a long research, the crania were found in Oslo and Copenhagen, and finally reunited with the skeletons. “Until recently the uprising was a taboo subject among the 1,600 population in Kautokeino; still it has inspired five novels, two operas, one symphony, and several documentaries. But since most families have ancestors who were involved, it was not considered proper tea time conversation,” explained Gaup, who has worked on the project for 10 years Born in Kautokeino, himself a descendant of Aslak Hætta – one of the executed leaders - Gaup has written the script with Nils Aslak Eira, Reidar Jönsson and Pelone Wahl. His production team includes cinematographer Philip Øgaard and set designer Karl Juliusson, and he has shot several scenes with a rare contingency of extras – 1,500 reindeer. Kautokeino-opprøret is scheduled for an autumn 2007 première, to be followed by a four-episode television series aired by Norwegian pubcaster NRK (with an episode on the aftermath of the rebellion, which is not in the film). After use the reconstructed village will be moved to the real Kautokeino, to become part of a Sami museum.
Cast	Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Asle Mathis Gaup, Mikkel Gaup, Nils Peder Isaksen Gaup, Mikael Persbrandt, Bjørn Sundquist, Sverre Porsanger, Peter Andersson, Mikael Nyqvist, Jørgen Langhelle, Ole Niklas Mienna Guttorm
Screenplay	Nils Gaup, Tone Pelone Wahl, Reidar Jönsson, Nils Isak Eira
D.O.P	Philip Øgaard
Editor	Thomas Täng, Jan-Olof Svarvar
Composer	Mari Boine, Svein Schultz, Herman Rundberg
Sound	Per Boström
Scenography	Karl K. Juliusson
Producer	Jørgen Storm Rosenberg, Jeanette Sundby, Tove Kløvvik
Line producer	Leif Mohlin
Production company	Associate Producers: Lasse Greve Alsos, Pål Røed \| Executive Producers: Turi Josefsen, Gullik Hansen, Halgrim Thon, Börje Hansson, Vidar Nordli-Mathisen \| Supervising Producer: Börje Hansson Rubicon TV AS \| Sandakervn. 24 C3 \| N-0473 Oslo Tel: +47 23 23 45 00 \| Fax: +47 23 23 45 01 \|
Co-producer	Borealis Production, Norway \| Filmlance International, Sweden, lars.blomgren@filmlance.se \| Metronome Productions, Denmark, jesper.zartov@metronome.dk \| Filbmagoahti \| FilmCamp in collaboration with NRK, Sandrew Metronome Norway
Country of origin	Norway
Release date (national)	2008-01
Technical information
Format	35mm
Screen ratio	1:2,35
Colour	Colour
Sound System	Dolby SRD
Length in min's	96 min
Length in meters	2636
No. of reels	5
International sales	NonStop Sales AB \| info@nonstopsales.net
Distributor (Norway only)	Sandrew Metronome Norway
Festival participation	2008 Montreal World Film Festival, Canada Out of Competition 2009 Palm Springs Festival, USA 2009 Scandinavian film Festival, Los Angeles 2009 Würzburg Internationales Filmwochenende 2009 Festival du Cinéma Nordique, Rouen 2009 Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico 2009 Minneapolis - St. Paul Inernational Film Festival, USA 2009 Skandinavische Filmtage Bonn
Prizes received	2008 The Norwegian International Film Festival, Haugesund: Amanda: Best Actress to Anni-Kristiina Juuso 2008 The Norwegian International Film Festival, Haugesund: Amanda: Best Cinematography to Philip Øgaard 2008 The Norwegian International Film Festival, Haugesund: Amanda: Best Set Designer to Karl K. Juliusson 2008 The Norwegian International Film Festival, Haugesund: Amanda: The Peoples Amanda 2008 The Norwegian International Film Festival, Haugesund: Best Musical Score to Mari Boine, Svein Schultz, Herman Rundberg 2009 Nordic Film Festival, Rouen, France: Audience Award 2009 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Flim Festival, USA: Audience Award

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Director biography:
Nils Gaup is back with a story from the Sami community. His first feature film, The Pathfinder which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1987, was based on a Sami legend. In the period between these two films, he has made several feature films in Norway and abroad, such as Haakon Haakonsen (aka Shipwrecked), Head above Water (Hodet over vannet), Tashunga and Misery Harbour (Flugten fra Jante).