[ MARCH: SOPHIO MEDOIDZE & ELINA WAAGE MIKALSEN & MAGNUS HOLMEN ]

[ 07:00-24:00  Everyday ]

12.03. – 25.03

Screened in the kiosk-kino in Havneterminal, Tromsø.


A green and pink image with a double exposure. Two young men ride horses. Waves are superimposed over the top

Xitana ხითანაo

Sophio Medoidze, 2019 (UK, GE)

10 min

The first film in Medoidze’s Tusheti Trilogy, Xitana is centred around a bareback horse race tradition in the Tusheti mountains – a display of masculinity as much as fragility of the community trying to maintain its cultural integrity.

In the isolated mountainous region of Tusheti in North East Georgia, life has remained largely unchanged since medieval times. However, a few years ago the Georgian government introduced free wifi access to the villages, where previously one had to walk for 10 km to make a phone call. The desires of the young Tushetians are shifting rapidly, as they are more likely to stay in the village with internet access but are still dreaming about a better life beyond the mountains. It feels more accessible due to social media yet remains largely out of reach due to visa and economic restrictions; with tourist numbers on the rise Tush people are facing a dilemma whether to modernise or remain faithful to their traditional way of life.

Nowhere else is this conflict of desires more pronounced than during Atengenoba, the region’s traditional summer festivities, with young Tushetians looking increasingly more like the teenagers everywhere else.


A double exposed image: An old photo of a protest with banners is superimposed over a contemporary image of a fjord.

GEAIDNOEARUS [AT THE CROSSROADS]

Elina Waage Mikalsen & Magnus Holmen,

2021 (NO)

16 min

Geaidnoearus tells the story of a recent activist movement against the Norwegian government’s plan to use Repparfjord as a landfill for mining waste. In the film, the Repparfjord case echoes the historical protests of 1981 against the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Guovdageainnu-Álttá (Kautokeino-Alta) river. These two political conflicts align environmental protection and the experiences of the Sámi people against two major Norwegian touchstones. Repparfjorden and the Kautokeino-Alta river were and still are important spawning grounds for coastal cod and salmon, at the same time remaining an important resource for Sámi reindeer husbandry and Sea Sámi fisheries.


We are grateful for funding from Tromsø Kommune and Norsk Kulturrådet, support from Tromsø Havn/Havneterminalen. This project would not have been possible without the help and support of Tromsø Kunstforening. The films came directly from the artists and from LUX.