The Magic Reindeer – Content

The Magic Reindeer : Tales from the Polar Circle
13 x 7 min.

The project contains 13 individual episodes, all based on the legends and folktales of northern tribes like the Sámi people ( Lapps from Finland, Sweden and Norway ), northern Siberian Nenetchs, arctic Indians and Inuits. The basic research is done on location in the Scandinavian Lapland.

Nowadays the northern people are living in several states, but their tales and legends are coming from the same source. It is easy to believe that thousands year ago there was only one big nomad tribe wandering across the Polar Circle. All the northern minorities have one thing in common : they still believe in shamanism . A shaman is more than a medicine man or witch : he is the true, silent leader of the community , something between a priest and psychiatric.

The individual episodes describe different aspects of this shamanistic and magical world, which is very suitable issue for animation . The final choosing of the stories for the scripts will be done till end of 2004, but here the first draft of chosen stories :

1. THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD (Sutschi legend / Siberia )
2. LAHANAKO ( Nenetchi legend / Siberia )
3. THE OLD MAN FROM THE TRAY TEEPEE (Nenetchi legend)
4. THE BIRTH OF THE REINDEER (Sámi legend from Finland)
5. THE FALL OF THE STAALO (Sámi legend from Norway / Finland, Finnmark area)
6. THE WRONG SHAMAN (Sámi legend from Norway)
7. THE JOURNEY THROUGH SEVEN WORLDS (Koltta saami area / Finland)
8. THE LOST SOUL (Greenland legend)
9. THE KUFITAR MAID (Sámi legend from Finland)
10. MAAHISET – THE MAAHIS FOLK (Lapland / Sweden)
11. WHEN STAALO MOTHER LOST HER CHILD (Lapland / Finland)
12. THE FOREST SPELL (Lapland / Finland)
13. END OF THE WORLD (Legend from Alaska / Inuit)

Like all the other animations directed by Katariina Lillqvist , the genre is puppet animation. Very important part of the project will be the soundtrack : one of the main composers is Wimme Saari , a well-known Sámi singer who combines the ancient technics of “joiku “ singing with the modern elements of contemporary world music.

The tales are collected and treated by the same style as Katariina Lillqvist did in her previous series of animated films ( MIRE BALA KALE HIN – Tales from the Endless Roads / ROMANY FAIRYTALES, 6 x 9´ ). Katariina Lillqvist will create an original literary work based on traditional legends. All together she has collected more than 200 samples of northern tales from different sources until now.