Let the River Flow 2023

In 1979, Ester Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen leaves for Alta to take a temporary teaching post. Before the move, she visits her mother Máret Maria Bock, who lives with her Norwegian husband Stein Finn Arve Sørbøe and their son Thomas William Sigvaldsen. On television, reporters discuss Sámi opposition to the Alta Hydroelectric Power Station, casting a shadow over the town’s future. Ester’s journey begins with a return to her roots: she joins her grandmother Áhkku Mary Sarre for cloudberry gathering, where Áhkku sings the yoik that her late father composed for Ester. Through Mihkkal [Gard Emil Elvenes], her cousin who arrives in his gákti, Ester is drawn toward the protest camps at Stilla [no], and there she encounters another Sámi activist, Risten [Sofia Jannok], opening her eyes to a broader movement.

As Ester starts teaching, she keeps her Sámi heritage hidden, brushes off anti-Sámi jokes, and voices a belief that the dam should proceed despite the protests. Outside the bar, her colleague Gøran [Ivar Beddari] flirts with her, and a Sámi man is harassed for not speaking Norwegian; Ester pretends not to know him, a moment that underscores the tensions of the town. Back at the Stilla camp, Ester absorbs the idea of non-violent resistance and witnesses the friction between protesters and local supporters of the dam, an ongoing conflict that mirrors deeper social rifts. The life of a Sámi student named Ailu becomes visible to Ester as she observes the social exclusion he endures, prompting her to search for her own gákti. Her grandmother Áhkku helps restore it, and Ester dons the garment for the first time since her confirmation, retreating to a shed where memories of her father overwhelm her with tears. Máret confesses a painful history—residential schools that punished Sámi children for speaking their language—sharing that there may be no easy future for Sámi in this landscape, a truth that weighs heavily on Ester’s sense of belonging.

Motivated by the situation, Ester joins the Sámi Action Group traveling to Oslo, where they establish a protest camp and begin a hunger strike against the dam’s construction. Ester endures a fifth-day collapse and is rushed to the hospital; Mihkkal, upon discovering she has broken her fast, reacts with anger and leaves, signaling how personal loss and collective struggle collide. The government agrees to pause construction until a new parliamentary debate, a victory that the Sámi activists interpret as a breathing space rather than a final settlement. During Christmas, Ester contends with Stein about whether the halt will hold, and she gives Thomas her father’s Four Winds hat, a gesture that Mary [Máret] finds uncomfortable. A tense confrontation with her mother follows, with Ester insisting that this place may no longer be her home.

At a meeting, news breaks that parliament has voted to resume dam construction, sharpening Ester’s resolve. Mihkkal urges her to listen as well as speak, handing over his car key and Sámi flag, symbols of responsibility and courage. Ester goes door to door, rallying support and meeting a mother whose children are harassed for wearing Sámi clothing. The day after, Mihkkal is found dead by suicide, a devastating blow that deepens Ester’s commitment even as it shakes her faith. At Mihkkal’s funeral, Máret appears in traditional dress, and a fragile reconciliation begins as Ester returns home with her mother and Áhkku. Stein extends his support for Ester’s civil-disobedience efforts, and she returns to the protest camp. The turnout grows with renewed energy, including the mother she spoke with earlier, and the movement presses on despite police pressure to clear the road. When an officer removes Mihkkal’s Sámi flag, Ester fights to reclaim it and is dragged away, an image that cements the personal costs of collective action.

Years later, Ester drives Ailu home from school, and the boy asks to see his room and to hear a yoik. While she initially hesitates, she finds the voice she thought she had lost and finally sings Mihkkal’s yoik, bridging past and present and reaffirming her bond to her family, her community, and the ongoing struggle for Sámi rights.