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Sumé – The Sound of a Revolution

’The Danish opinion was always so important to us, treatment ’ a woman from Greenland says. ’If you wanted to be a good Greenlander, capsule you always had to be better than the Danes.’ The documentary by Inuk Silis Høegh focuses on a small nation on a big island, link the politically active 1970’s and an ideological rock group that is still fondly remembered today.

Sumé, the first rock group to perform in the Greenlandic language, was born in an era when the island’s education was given only in Danish. The band, performing songs of oppression with beautifully poetic lyrics, was exactly what the people needed in the still-colonial atmosphere. Using the indigenous language, the group reinforced the Greenlanders’ identity and supported their cultural independence from the mother country, all the while delivering enjoyable music. The founders of Sumé, Malikand Per, nostalgically recall their outdoor gigs surrounded by the incredible nature of their homeland. However, when the band’s potential for greater international fame was to be tested, their courage waned.

The film, combining interviews from the band and its fans, archival footage and Greenland’s natural scenery, focuses on the band’s most active period in the 1970’s, a decade that ended with Greenland being granted autonomous legislature. Nowadays, there is only one official language in Greenland – Greenlandic.

Eira Heinämies / Translation: Liina Härkönen

Languages: Greenlandic, English, Danish
Subtitles: English

  • Name in Original Language: Sumé - Mumisitsinerup Nipaa
  • Director: Inuk Silis Høegh
  • Country: Greenland, Denmark, Norway
  • Year: 2015
  • Length: 73 min
  • Age limit: K12
  • Format: DCP
  • Cinematography: Henrik Bohn Ipsen
  • Editing: Per K. Kirkegaard
  • Audio: Jon McBirnie, Rune Hansen
  • Music: Malik Høegh, Per Berthelsen
  • Production: Emile Hertling Péronard / Emile Péronard

Showtimes:

  • Cinema Sõprus: Sunday 31.01 - 18:00