Sammatti Film Festival offers another dose of enlightening and inspiring cinema, 5-6 September 2026.

Sissel Stormo Holtan as a guest through Zoom.

FINNISH PREMIERE

For twenty years, Sissel Stormo Holtan, Elise Årbogen and Terje Haugen have fought to protect their ancestral grazing lands from Europe’s largest wind power project. Despite their protests, the Norwegian state allowed 151 massive turbines to be built on the Fosen mountains before the legal battle was even over.

In a landmark turn of events, the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled the wind farm a violation of Sámi human rights. For a brief moment, Sissel, Elise and Terje believed they had won their mountains back. But the victory was short-lived. Instead of dismantling the turbines, the government sided with international energy giants, offering a €14 million settlement and demanding the herders move their reindeer elsewhere.

As Sámi youth take to the streets in international protest, Sissel, Elise and Terje face a devastating choice: take the money and secure their financial future, or refuse a settlement that feels like forced relocation. In a world rushing toward a “green transition,” they are left with a simple, painful truth: reindeer can’t eat money.

https://sammattifilmfestival.fi/en/let-our-mountains-live-2/