Amandas Kernell’s Sami Blood, a Swedish-Danish-Norwegian co-production, has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European Film in the Giornate degli Autori-Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival, it was announced today by a jury of three exhibitors from the network. 2016 marks the thirteenth time the Label has been awarded in Venice.

In receiving the Label, SAMI BLOOD will benefit from promotional support from Europa Cinemas and better exhibition thanks to a financial incentive for network cinemas to include it in their programme schedule.

The jury issued the following statement: “This debut feature is a very powerful piece of story-telling. An emotionally charged look at the search for identity, the film introduces audiences to the relatively unknown history of the Sami people in Northern Scandinavia. But above all, SAMI BLOOD celebrates the enormous bravery of a young girl prepared to risk all in order to move away from the confines of her life. With strong performances and a truly cinematic feel, the director avoids all the usual tricks of narrative to deliver a highly original and totally absorbing film, which has relevance well beyond Scandinavia.”

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