Marja Viitahuhta & Ánnámáret’s Vuoiŋŋat (Spirits) will compete at the Viborg Animation Festival, taking place from September 7–13, 2026 in Viborg, Denmark.

The film is part of the screening Competition programme 5.

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.

Marja Viitahuhta is a Helsinki-based media artist and filmmaker who grew up in the Inari region. Her works range from films, performances and installations to photography and collage. She holds a BA degree in performance art from the Turku Polytechnic Arts Academy and an MFA degree from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. She has been awarded internationally at Cannes (Cinéfondation), Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Mediawave and L’Alternativa film festivals. Viitahuhta often bases her experimental works on documentary methods such as usage of archive material and found images as well as interviews. Viitahuhta has collaborated with musicians Ánnámáret (Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman), Ilkka Heinonen and Turkka Inkilä since 2019. The working group is initiated by Ánnámáret.

Viborg Animation Festival
September 7–13, 2026
Viborg, Denmark

More information: Viborg Animation Festival