Tystnaden i Sápmi

With a close-up camera and strong interviews, director Liselotte Wajstedt takes us to a painful place in several senses of the word. This film tries to confront unacceptable actions, but also has great respect for the women who chooses not to be silent.

Tystnaden i Sápmi is a documentary film that deals with taboos that have weighed down on indigenous women for generations. Sexual abuse is not only an indigenous phenomenon, it is universal and concerns all of us. Silence is a survival strategy for many, either when it comes to coping with the unimaginable committed, or for those who are in the same community as both victim and perpetrator. But the young women in this film –Marion and Ida– with their own personal stories of surviving sexual abuse, are not to be silenced anymore.

Finally, both of them have the courage to speak up, no matter the cost. This is their story and they have had enough! Tystnaden i Sápmi follows Marion and Ida as they both seek to find answers to difficult questions around their traumatic experiences. Both have painfully come to see that silence will not benefit anybody anymore. A powerful and important documentary that needs to be seen.