

Rahčan – Ella’s Riot
- Documentary
Love, music, Sami identity and environmental activism go hand in hand in this inspiring tale of young singer Ella and her fight against the mining company that threatens her Sami heritage.


Love, music, Sami identity and environmental activism go hand in hand in this inspiring tale of young singer Ella and her fight against the mining company that threatens her Sami heritage.
These theatres support recommended formats for this movie. This does not mean the movie is currently showing.
Find theatres near you
Enter your city or let us detect your location
No editorial yet
Guides and articles for this movie will appear here after content sync.

Bortom hagan
17 January 1988

Mot vinden
15 September 2025

Into the Land of Ice and Fire
5 November 2022

Time for Common Rudd
21 August 1944

Tema: Samer
13 October 2008

In the Land of the Mountain People: Days in Lapland
3 December 1923

A Shout into the Wind
18 December 2007

Daughters of the Midnight Sun
1 January 1985
Premiere · confirmed
Premiere
Rahčan – Ella’s Riot

CinemaView Score
Best Format
STANDARDWorth Premium Ticket
✗Skip PremiumSoilentBxd
Written on 10/21/2023
**Ella Marie** puts on her coat in the tent and points to her belt with the fish symbol: Let's go. Flashback: Her home is with the Sámi people in Finnmark, Norway's northernmost province. In Oslo, Ella has made a new life for herself, singing with the band ISÁK, who consider themselves part of the electrojoik (that's a thing?). A mining company wants to mine minerals in Finnmark, which brings Ella and a group from environmental protection to protest. They fear long-term consequences for the ecosystem on the land of the Sámi, some of whom still traditionally keep reindeer there. The group camps in the north and chains themselves to excavators to prevent the mining. Ella Marie performs a song - _Rahčan_, which means "storm". **Anne Marte Blindheim** accompanies Ella Marie over several years, during which she became a kind of symbolic figure of protest in the Norwegian media after taking part in a number of singing competitions. In between, Ella also visits Mari Boine, a Sami singer and strong symbolic figure, if not the icon within the "Sámi scene". The insight into Ella Marie's life and the protest actions are worth seeing for anyone interested in the topic, but in between it seems a bit unstructured. It is clear that it is not always possible to start from scratch, but perhaps more context would have been helpful in the film. Also, the CEO of the company is given space to make his point. Something that is always good from a cinematic point of view to avoid being accused of being one-sided. However, it doesn't really contribute to further insights, as only chumming marketing slogans are dropped. Ella Marie also notices the problematic "giving space" at an event in the film. Also interesting are the shots from the 80s, when numerous Sámi and sympathizers protested in the streets of Oslo for their rights. In the cinema, Anne Marte Blindheim tells of her initial contact with Ella Marie, whose protest she learned about in a newspaper article. The protest has been successful so far, as the company lost their (German) investor, who didn't like things to move quickly and quietly enough. However, they continue to look for ways to implement their project.
No awards linked
No Wikidata award or festival records were found for this title yet.