![\"Oskar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Oskar-Ostergren-Njajta.jpg\")
<\/a>Oskar \u00d6stergren Njajta<\/p>\nOskar \u00d6stergren Njajta: It comes from the heart. Being S\u00e1mi, I grew up with these stories \u2014 local and family tales, as well as myths and legends that shape how we, as a people, interact with nature and the spirits that surround us. It\u2019s part of everyday life, and for me, animation was the best way to share this with young audiences and allow them to feel seen and represented on screen.<\/p>\n
It all started back in 2015, when I first envisioned Saajve as a TV series. But the financing system in Sweden (at least at that time) favored features, so we decided to adapt it into a feature film instead.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1mi people were only officially recognized as an Indigenous group in Sweden in the late 1970s. Would you say this film is part of an effort to shine more light on S\u00e1mi history and culture?<\/p>\n
I think S\u00e1mi people share the same struggles as many minorities who\u2019ve been colonized. In our case, colonization and oppression were most intense during the 1900s, so it\u2019s quite recent\u2014and still fresh in memory. Sweden was very active in trying to make the S\u00e1mi language and culture disappear, but they didn\u2019t succeed.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned, this project started in 2015 when I attended a screening of the very first South S\u00e1mi feature film, which I co-produced. It was part of the centennial celebration of the first S\u00e1mi protests in Sweden. The cinema was packed with people discovering their culture on screen for the first time, and that was a really powerful moment. I told myself: I want the younger generation to see themselves not as being looked at, but truly seen in a story from their own point of view.<\/p>\n
At the same time, such stories can connect to others. I believe that if you create something sincere for a small, close-knit community, that story can travel and resonate worldwide.<\/p>\n
Can you tell us more about your visual approach?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to understand that there\u2019s no such thing as a S\u00e1mi animation industry. I\u2019m the writer and director of the project, but we had to look beyond our small team to make it happen. The core concept art and visual development were created by my brother, a talented painter and illustrator who works with pen, pencil, and watercolor in a very analog way. He developed the style for both the characters and the worlds they inhabit, while collaborating with me on the mechanics of this universe and the personalities of our protagonists.<\/p>\n
Digital artists then translated that work to help us craft a feature blending rigged characters and hand-drawn sequences.<\/p>\n
How did S\u00e1mi imagery and heritage influence your designs?<\/p>\n In Saajve\u2019s world\u2014just as in S\u00e1mi fairy tales\u2014birds play a major role, as they\u2019re the only ones able to travel freely between the human and spirit realms. It was very important for us to infuse their design and animation with that symbolism.<\/p>\n For example, our villain Crow works in cahoots with the evil giant Stalloe, a well-known S\u00e1mi fairy tale monster who, by the way, will be voiced by veteran actor and director Peter Stormare.<\/p>\n Beyond that, it was crucial for us to recreate the same atmosphere S\u00e1mi children experience in our regions\u2014the unique shapes of the trees, the pink and purple skies. For the spirit world of Saajve, we drew inspiration from S\u00e1mi folklore and the flora and fauna of Lapland to craft a mythical realm. Patterns from traditional S\u00e1mi clothing also influenced the film\u2019s designs, and our characters wear outfits made of reindeer fur. These details are important to us\u2014they add realism and authenticity.<\/p>\n Finally, for those familiar with S\u00e1mi symbols, the film includes cultural references like the shape of the drum, which plays a big role in our heritage. These layers add depth for those who recognize them, without alienating younger viewers.<\/p>\n What about the soundscape and music?<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the areas we\u2019re developing right now. With the first version of our animatic, we\u2019re editing and creating the soundscape and score with our composer. I\u2019m very happy he joined early on\u2014we already have our main theme, which helps shape the film\u2019s tone and atmosphere.<\/p>\n We want the film not only to feel like nature, but to sound like it. We\u2019ve recorded many natural sounds that we\u2019ll blend into the soundtrack to give the project a deeply organic feel.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for Saajve?<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already created a six-minute short, essentially an animation test to show partners the project\u2019s potential. Now, we\u2019re expanding it into a 65\u201370-minute feature aimed at a slightly older audience. We plan to animate and post-produce the film in 2026 between Sweden and Norway, with a premiere set for 2027.<\/p>\n The final budget is estimated at \u20ac2.3 million, with a hybrid pipeline of hand-drawn and rigged animation. Production is financed, and we\u2019re now seeking international sales agents, broadcasters, and distributors in Europe and beyond to join us and help elevate the final look of the film.<\/p>\n In 2026, we plan to showcase the project at as many markets as possible and host several works-in-progress sessions to spread the word about this singular S\u00e1mi film. So, stay tuned!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nordic-Baltic animation industry is the gift that keeps on giving. After learning about Little Am\u00e9lie co-director Liane-Cho…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-124113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n