Kultajoki – Gold River
Not a single gram without passion

Film by Bernd A. Bartusévics
produced by Annett Pée

During the summer of 1868, when the first gold was found on the banks of the Ivalojoki River, Northern Finnish Lapland was just a wilderness. Nomadic Samì traveled with their reindeer through the arctic taiga and tundra. For the few who ventured to reach the gold fields 250 km away, the extreme climatic conditions proved a tough test. But by 1870 there were already 500 men working on the Ivalojoki with the dream of finding their one, true bonanza.

Even today the river is largely cut off from civilization. There are still a few gold washers who continue to do this arduous work during the short arctic summer. Some of them are adventurers and freaks. Serious prospectors looking for an alternative to modern life with its conveniences, distractions and dependencies, who value living among nature, are rare.
This film is about the gold rush in Lapland and a female photographer in search of those still looking for gold in the arctic river. Her romantic ideas of panning for gold on warm midsummer nights will soon be dampened by the harsh reality of the gold washers’ life on the river’s banks. This is a portrait of remarkable persons in a rugged landscape of wild beauty.

16:9, Full HD, Duration: 88 minutes

Language versions:

German Version: German/English
English Version: original with subtitles
Finnish Version: original with subtitles

Additional Images: "Gallery"!