EXCLUSIVE: Obscured Releasing has acquired North American distribution rights to Árru, the musical drama following a Sàmi family’s fight to protect their land from looming environmental threat.

The film from writer-director Elle Sofe Sara will get a theatrical release in early 2027 before launching on digital platforms later next year.

The film follows “a family of Sàmi reindeer herders as their way of life and Indigenous land face threat from an encroaching mining project. As protests and conflict continue, single mother Maia (Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska) turns to a long lost family member (Mikkel Gaup), giving rise to long buried family wounds and secrets.”

The feature uses traditional Sàmi song and dance “to portray familial catharsis and the connections between communities and their lands”.

Following its world premiere at Berlin, the movie went on to play Sydney and the Nordic Film Festival, and made its North American premiere at this year’s Tribeca film festival.

The project was produced by Elisa Fernanda Pirir, Mimmi Spång, Elle Sofe Sara and Jani Pösö. Executive producers include Jim Stark, Kristine Ann Skaret, Gary Cranner, and Axel Helgeland.

The deal was negotiated by Steven Bestwick of The Yellow Affair and Bill Guentzler and RJ Millard on behalf of Obscured Releasing.

The Yellow Affair has also sold Árru to international territories including Angel Distribution (Denmark), Bíó Paradís (Iceland), Filmwelt (Germany, Austria), Fivia (Ex-Yugoslavia), Otaku Mtü (Baltics), Palace (Australia / New Zealand). Theatrical distribution in Norway will be handled by Norsk Filmdistribusjon. The movie is a co-production with Garagefilm International (Sweden) and It’s Alive (Finland).

“I look forward to sharing our subtle musical family drama, Árru, with audiences in the U.S. in collaboration with Obscured Releasing,” said director Elle Sofe Sara. “With Árru, I wanted to tell a story about the resilience of women, the complexities of family bonds, and the power of finding one’s voice in the face of silence. I’m so pleased to have found a partner in Obscured who believes in the film and its journey to audiences.”

“Elle Sofe’s intimate and elegiac film showcases the passion of a family as they protect their way of life through beautiful and emotional ways,” added RJ Millard and Bill Guentzler. “Her originality of voice and storytelling are exemplified by the combination of dance, song and protest in creating something truly riveting.”

YouTube‘s Pedro Pina has doubled down on the case against giving prominence to British broadcasters on digital services.

The Google platform’s Vice President in EMEA yesterday argued during his MacTaggart lecture that “forced prominence” would damage the content ecosystem on YouTube, and he echoed that sentiment today in a follow-up talk, saying it would threaten the “meritocracy” that has grown on the service.

“YouTube exists so you can find the content that you love and everyone has a level-playing field ability to be successful,” he said. “Everyone has access to the same tools and the ability to meet their audience.

“We’ve seen success from YouTubers to all the way up to linear broadcasters, which is exciting to see. The moment you have forced prominence the first thing that will happen is you are going to select a few of those content creators who will be on top of your feed. Everyone in this room will have to see the same thing, so the foundational principle is gone. You won’t have the option, regardless of who you are and what your preference is.”

He said that “more importantly,” ensuring content from the likes of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 were presented prominently on the YouTube homepage would hit other creators hard.

“A lot of independent creators, producers and publishers, who have spent a lot making sure their content is discoverable and make a living from it, will be pushed down,” said Pina. “We are endangering a creator economy that has been burgeoning in this country.”

He referenced companies such as Goalhanger, which has built a huge following through YouTube distribution of video podcasts such as The Rest is History and The Rest is Football, and the Guardian newspaper among those who would be de-ranked by a prominence rule. “That is why we are uncomfortable with this forced prominence issue,” he said.

His comments come as the UK’s government prepares a Green Paper that will seek to dictate how the country’s media systems operate in the future, with prominence among the options on the table.

Yesterday in Pina’s MacTaggart talk, he warned enshrining “forced prominence” in law would be damaging to the sector.

“If this becomes law, many UK-based creators and production companies will see their livelihoods threatened,” he said. “UK viewers will have to wade through content they may not want, which in itself could undermine the trust that UK public service broadcasters have built up.”

YouTube has been keen to talk up its partnership with the BBC and other British networks during its time in Edinburgh this week, and positioned itself as friend, not foe to the traditional sector.

“We really want public sector broadcasters to do well and we are committed,” said Alison Lomax, Managing Director of YouTube UK & Ireland in a separate Edinburgh session this morning.