Kirsten Olsen, Exhibitions Coordinator, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, May 2008: The Nordic Heritage Museum was proud to have been a venue for your short film, SOURCE OF INSPIRATION. The film was premiered at the preview reception of the exhibition, Roland Pantze: Painter of Sami Life, and then ran continuously in the exhibition galleries, from February 15 through April 20, 2008. The film was an integral part of the exhibition, contributing greatly to the context of the paintings. It was very well received by visitors to the exhibition. The Nordic Heritage Museum is very interested in screening the full-length documentary when it is completed. There is great interest in Sami culture among Museum members and visitors. The film will further the Museum’s mission to share Nordic culture with people of all ages and backgrounds through educational and cultural experiences.

Nina Ersman, Consul General, Consulate General of Sweden, Los Angeles. Nov. 18 ’08: Director Linda Blomqvist’s short film SOURCE OF INSPIRATION was a valuable addition to 2008 EuroDocs Festival in Los Angeles. As a supporter of this year’s EuroDocs festival, the Consulate General of Sweden highly appreciates that SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, an example of the high quality of Swedish films, was this year’s opening film.

James Koenig, President of American-Scandinavian Foundation of Los Angeles and Founder/Director of Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. Nov ‘08: The documentary film maker is part historian, part voyeur, part tour guide. The art of documentary film making opens the world to us– inviting us to experience both nature and human nature. We are taken on journeys of the eye and of information, and in the shared stories– contemporary or historic– our horizons are expanded and our perspective widened. Linda Blomqvist invites us to go with her to the Sami people. Her keen eye and her cultural sensitivity to her Sami subjects take us into the tempo and temperament of Europe’s oldest indigenous people at the top of the European continent in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. It’s an important journey. Already, her short film SOURCE OF INSPIRATION which I saw recently at the EuroDocs Festival here in Los Angeles has left us wanting more. The Sami are a people whose ancient cultural heritage is in tact, even though they have been melding modern technology into their lifestyle. One wonders– can an indigenous people be a modern people. Linda Blomqvist’s full feature length documentary project, THE HIDDEN PEOPLE OF SCANDINAVIA promises to answer the question. The American Scandinavian Foundation of Los Angeles and Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. has pledged our help in facilitating support for the project and looks forward to seeing the completed work and sharing it with Los Angeles audiences.