Engaging with a forgotten history, the 2023 Finnish Documentary, Homecoming, explores the emotional undertaking of redefining and identifying aspects of antiquity through the storytelling practice of film. Embodying a personal approach, director and scriptwriter, Suvi West, utilizes her talents to accentuate a public anthropological study following the return of historical artifacts, belonging to the Sámi peoples, to the Sápmi region. The audience is placed in a front-row seat to the recovery of these artifacts as we follow West’s emotional and engaging journey through archival areas and a variety of museums. 

Opening shots follow West as she walks through a vacant area of land surrounded by blowing snow, accompanied by a clear voice singing in the background. Establising shots of land, forestry, rolling skies, and waterways, are evidently presented with purpose. Utilizing cinematography to heighten deep emotional ties to homelands, the film greatly comprehends the importance of lost territories, culture, and artifacts. 

Watching the unboxing of historic property, the audience comes to know that many cultural practices find continued use in contemporary society. As the interviews between West and select individuals ensure, discussions of craftsmanship are commonplace. With continued practice of systematically and culturally created tools or clothing, West implies the history of the Sámi people’s lives onwards. To put it in West’s words, “It lives in your hands, as well as it lives in these museum items.” (12:44)

As the film finds its conclusion, the audience is presented with a personal understanding of the emotional toll which this journey has taken on West. While the process was inevitably draining, it becomes clear that West’s engagement with history, her ability to return lost or stolen property and cultural possessions, provides a unique relief, one only to be described as the homecoming of heritage. 

Voices, stories, lands, property and much more have been displaced or forcefully removed as a result of aggressive religious influence and demonization of the Sámi peoples throughout history. Presented with a black screen at the film’s conclusion, the audience may see that the efforts made by West to return artifacts are simply a starting point. With roughly 50,000 Sámi artifacts still dispersed throughout world museums, and much property and ancestral remains missing, resulting from the racial research era, displays and scientific research have left the Sámi peoples with a scattered history; one which must be rebuilt. 

With the removal of artifacts, West’s work notes issue with the collectors, as they often only found interest “in the items, not the stories” (16:21). It is for this reason that many of the displaced artifacts were lost resulting from a lack of care for the historical and cultural connotations, rather the artifacts were kept solely for their face value.  

Much of world history is wrought with colonial or racialized practices of discrimination. While this will only partially be rectified, platforms such as film, present unique educational access to untold or previously dismissed stories. Movements such as the Homecoming documentary establish inspirational understandings that even though lost for a time, property, peace and history can be reclaimed through continual investigation. 

West’s final commentary, which states “Ancestors, are you here? Is this the story you wanted me to tell?” (1:12:18), solidifies for the audience, not only her inspiration for the documentary but also the general tonality which is personified by West as a storyteller.

The 2024 ReFrame Festival runs from January 25th-February 4th. A list of films, tickets to events and screenings, and more information can be found on the Festival Website.