Laplandic Storytelling

by Swara Shukla · Published February 1, 2019 · Updated March 29, 2019

Don’t let the tag fool you. This one doesn’t have The Cat frolicking around, I am afraid. I am usually really nice and give The Cat its space and time (and voice, seeing I am usually the mouthpiece), but my inordinate excitement about the Swedish Lapland (a term I was woefully oblivious of before this) got even The Cat to allow me to take charge of this one.

EDIT: Actually it was Erika’s initial disbelief and eventual passion to spread the beauty of Swedish Lapland around that dragged me (both literally and figuratively) here but let The Cat take some credit.

Ammarnas: a small mountain-village in Sweden known traditionally for its reindeers.

Reindeers

I have been looking up the Swedish Lapland ever since I heard about you. They look beautiful, and incredibly – a word I’m sure wouldn’t be unfamiliar to you – inspiring. I can wax poetic about them after looking at them on my computer screen. What is it like in the midst of it?

I still find it so surprising that you were missing out on the knowledge of Lapland!

There is only one regret I have with moving to Lapland : Why didn´t I do it before?!

I was born there but my mother and father moved when I was 3 years old. I moved around a lot as a child but every summer I went to my grandmother in Lapland and loved it!

The air is clean. The water in lakes and rivers too. So clean that you can drink it. It is calm, beautiful and wild at the same time. Not so many people live there and it is far between the villages. The weather can be harsh.

Me in -42°C!

I had -42°C in my village twice the last couple of years. But there is a beauty in that (even if not many people would agree in the modern world when everybody is so stressed and prioritizes comfort). In Lapland you just HAVE TO follow nature. If it is -42°C you can not always go to work since you risk that the water will freeze and the heater will stop working. If there is an electricity brake you need to keep the fire in the iron stoves burning all day if you do not wish to freeze. Even if you have central heating. Everybody knows this and accepts if you stay home from work. If you go by car in the winter time you always need to have an extra set of warm clothes in the car. Because if your car breaks down or stops, due to the cold weather, you might not have a phone connection in the wild. If you do not respect nature’s conditions you might, in this case, freeze to death.

I know that sounds terrible but I must stress that it is ABSOLUTELY possible to live in Lapland all year-round. We don’t have polar bears walking on the roads! Also, in the summer, it can get really pleasant – around +30°C (so we don’t scare away visitors). And more and more people, especially from southern Europe, appreciate the positive parts of living a life closer to nature and experiencing the stillness and beauty.

Potatoes from Ammarnas, a small mountain-village in Sweden. They are interesting because they grow on a hill where it is not possible to grow anything this far north.

I relate to a lot of what you said about living there. Not to undermine the singular beauty of Lapland; the Scottish Highlands here where I am are also quite awe-inspiring. They are also remote but surrounded with calm and nature, very clean, and freezing! (I know its not -42°C but pretty well feels like it if you ask me!) Nature and natural beaty, I believe, are quite rightfully associated with creativity. What does creativity mean to you and how do use it in your work?
(And because I have become used to being its mouthpiece, The Blue Cat asks if you’d call it creative and make a movie with it?)

I would LOVE to make a movie on your Cat! Of course.

That is a very good question. What is “creativity”? There are many answers to that. But for me it is something that brings joy, happiness, fulfillment, and knowledge both for me and everybody else.

I meditate and do yoga. That is a way for me to connect with creativity. But I also paint. I have written a book about a Swedish artist called Curt Källman. He has left this earth but before that he founded a wonderful tool to connect and strengthen your creativity. It is a painting course called Vedic Art. Anyone can learn and take that course. You do not have to be a “gifted” artist. Many who have never touched a painting brush have attended it. It is an art course but also a course in the Art of Living (www.vedicart.com).

Dear Cat, it is good to ask questions otherwise you will never learn. But it is also great to be quiet sometimes and listen to your inner voice and ask yourself some questions too.

Balance is important in everything we do.

You know the saying: “curiosity killed the cat”. But that will not happen for you. We want you to keep on asking good questions…

As a (self-designated) storyteller myself, I am quite interested in your storytelling medium and process. What is the story behind starting a film-production company? What’s your filmmaking process like?

I always have loved film since I was a child. When I was sad – or when I really wished for something (to get a bicycle or becoming a journalist) – I broadcasted it all in my mind as moving images. As a reporter at a national TV news, I often did interviews with movie-stars, and I gradually realized I really loved telling stories in moving images. Yes, I also like writing and reading. But that I did for many years. It felt new to use moving images and I quickly discovered the power in that when I started working with television news.

Unfortunately, television news are often negative, upsetting people and making them feel bad. I wanted to spread inspirational news because i think the world would be a better place if we are not depressed and afraid but happy and inspired.

So I decided to start my own tv channel and it has developed during many years until I finally decided and had the courage to be serious with filming and started my film production company (Nordic Light Media) in 2017.

I work on many projects at the same time. Sounds hard maybe but you see; making a documentary takes time. I have to plan at least a year ahead. First to get an idea. To do my research. To connect with a tv channel or a film company that would like the idea too and distribute it. Then connect with different channels of finances to sponsor your idea. Film institutes, cultural authorities, companies etc. You can get funding for preparing a documentary too. But it is not easy. I think it is much easier to get funding when you are a younger person. You need to write a script. Make a budget. A time plan is necessary. You also need to write a project description and for that you have to be a good writer so that you inspire the people who can fund your idea.

Cloudberries – the Gold of Lapland.

This is mostly an aside: but you have met Clint Eastwood! How was that experience like? Next time he’s around Sweden, please call me? (Lapland and Clint Eastwood – would definitely be a win-win.)

Yes! I have met Clint Eastwood and that was really cool. I am surprised you know about him!

In Sweden, he is a cult figure.

It was a really cool situation.

I worked as an anchor at the evening news on Swedish Television, the biggest newsdesk in Scandinavia. But when I heard that Clint Eastwood was making his first (and probably last) visit to Sweden I volonteered to do the interview. Not a big sacrifice!

I had heard that he really liked beer so I bought a bottle and hid that and two glasses in my handbag. Swedish Television is a public service company and we were not allowed to show people drinking alcohol so this was alcohol-free beer.

He was not in a very good mood when it was my time to interview him. He had given interviews all day at a hotel in central Stockholm and was rather tired (I can understand that).

I was the last journalist for the day. So I suggested that since it was a beautiful day we could do the interview outside by the canal (Stockholm is surrounded by a lot of water). He immediately smiled and agreed.

I did my interview (some questions about politics since he had been elected as a mayor in Carmel). He was very nice and asked about my stomach; you see, I was 7 month pregnant at the time.

At the end of the interview, I took the bottle and glasses from my handbag and asked him of an expert opinion about Swedish non-alcoholic beer.

He put on a BIG smile, drank and said AHHHH. An excellent rating, don´t you think?

You know miracles happen all day. So IF I would be able to meet him again, I promise you will be the first to know!

Because I’m up here in Scotland (and a self-identified Scot), I must ask your thoughts on Scotland. Any memorable experiences here?

I LOVE Scotland. I visited ages ago and I have said every year: this year I just HAVE TO go to Scotland. But there has never been time. So I repeat this now again: this year I WILL go to Scotland. Since I want to meet you and your Blue Cat of course, and some not-so-blue people.

Last time I was there, I visited beautiful Edinburgh and saw a little of the beautiful nature you have there. I would also like to stay in one of your exciting castles and I am of course very interested in Scotland’s mythical past. The Vikings , and the Sami people (Scandinavias native people) have connections with Scotland. I think there are some reindeers left in Scotland.

I have Sami forefathers so I have learned a lot the last 5 years about the Sami people and their tradition. I am very proud of my Sami heritage. Last year, a wonderful movie called “Sami Blood” was internationally known and prized in Venice. I can strongly recommend it. If you ask for it at your local cinema, they can let you know how to be able to see it.

The Sami have a tragic history but thank heavens, it is now getting so much better!

I always say the beginning and end are the most important ways to tell a good story So please let me add about the Sami at the end:

Thank heavens it is getting better.

There are still challenges but also hope.

It is important to respect and honour all indigenous people and their knowledge and culture. Then we can truly live a life with love, peace and care for nature and THAT can save the planet!