Marja Viitahuhta & Ánnámáret’s Vuoiŋŋat (Spirits) (featured image) and Leena Lehti’s Existence II will be screened at the 50th Filmfest Weiterstadt, held from August 13th to 17th, 2025 in Weiterstadt, Germany.

Vuoiŋŋat (Spirits) is a cameraless animation by visual artist and filmmaker Marja Viitahuhta, bringing to life the 1839 drawings of northern lights by French illustrator Louis Bévalet, drawn in the Alta region in Sápmi. This digital space is filled by the sound of the indigenous Sámi musician Ánnámáret yoiking the homeless spirits – Vuoiŋŋat – and her luohti is accompanied by Ilkka Heinonen’s jouhikko aka carelian bowed lyre and electronic music by Turkka Inkilä.

The work is dedicated to the memory of the Sámi ancestors who were exhumed from their graves in burial grounds in Sápmi approximately 100–150 years ago in the name of research carried out for racist reasons. Some of the remains have only recently been reburied in Sápmi.

Screening time
Sunday, August 16th at 5:37 pm

Excistence II focuses on bees, proposing a gaze filled with curiosity and compassion. The bees seen in the hand processed film died due to winter loss. Existence is an experimental short film trilogy dedicated to insects and life. The title refers to the alarming decline in insect populations.

Screening time
Friday, August 14th at 2:25 pm

Filmfest Weiterstadt
August 13–17, 2026
Weiterstadt, Germany

More information: Filmfest Weiterstadt