Highlight Arctic Festival The Bonfire + O.M.G. (Oh Máigon Girl)

This event has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience.

These two new films explore the nature of community amongst different northern communities, as well as those who try to escape from it - successfully or otherwise.

An impressive feature debut by Yakutian director Dmitryi Davidov, The Bonfire is a powerful film about the ties and competing affections within a tightly-knit community in central Siberia. In the wake of a tragic accident, the father of the culprit decides to adopt a boy affected by it. This well-intention gesture, however, only deepens the rift caused between his two biological children. Tensions spark and resentment begins to rise within the family....

Marja Bål Nango's O.M.G. (Oh Máigon Girl) follows 15-year-old Máigon and her best friend, Ánne-Sire. In midsummer, at the height of the midnight sun, the two small-town Sámi girls feel in desperate need of adventure. With two very different goals in mind, the two set off on a risky escape attempt which sees them trying to hitch-hike their way towards independence and adulthood.

This screening is F-rated. Films are given an F-rating if directed by women, written by women and/or present significant female characters on screen, in their own right. f-rated.org.