A successful rock band from Greenland? Yes, it's not a lie. In 1973, the Greenlandic Sumé released a debut album, which record time made it to all the households on the icy island. But Sumé's success was not just due to their catchy beat rock, but also to the band's ability to put words to the zeitgeist, where Greenlandic culture was slowly fading away.
Sumé: The Sound of a Revolution, Sumé - lyden af en revolution
Greenland 
Denmark Denmark Greenland 
March Around the World 2021.
Film 4: Greenland
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Sumé were a very successful band from Greenland in the early 70s, but much more than that, they were the first rock band to sing in Greenlandic and they played a big part in the rise of Greenlanders' fight for self-determination. At the time Greenland had only an ‘advisory council’ and no legislative powers whatsoever after having been incorporated into Denmark in 1953. The ancient Inuit culture was in danger – all school lessons were taught in Danish and high schools and universities were all in Denmark so a lot of students who went there to study never returned. Sumé were a uni student band with big political lyrics and they…
Neon_Dreamer's filmische Weltreise
Maddins World Tour #16
Station: Greenland (Grönland)
Film language: Inuktitut (Kalaallisut/Grönländisch)
Where to watch: Amazon (Rent, 3,99€)
— English below —
Landesinfos:
Grönland ist ein politisch selbstverwalteter Bestandteil des Königreichs Dänemark. Historisch wurde Grönland ab 1721 von Dänemark-Norwegen kolonisiert und fiel 1814 an Dänemark. Bis 1953 kolonisierten die Dänen das Land weiter und beuteten die natürlichen Rohstoffe aus. 1979 erhielt das Land Autonomie, die 2009 ausgeweitet wurde.
Mit einer Fläche von 2,2 Mio. km² ist Grönland die größte Insel der Welt. Gleichzeitig ist das Land mit nur knapp 57.000 Einwohnern (also 0,026 pro km²) extrem dünn besiedelt. Zum Vergleich: Deutschland hat eine Fläche von knapp 357.000 km² und ca. 85 Mio. Einwohner (237 pro km²).
Das wäre…
It's always fun to see a documentary about something I really knew nothing about. I had not only never heard of Greenlandic 70s rock band Sumé, but I also knew very little of the legacies of colonialism in Greenland. Consequently, I found much of interest in this band's politically charged music and the way it briefly caught fire within a nation. I would have liked to see more context regarding the impacts of colonialism in Greenland and I also feel like a reunion with the band is curiously lacking, but this is a really neat glimpse at a history I didn't know of before.
March Around the World 2020 - Greenland (27/30)
The early 70's were a time of great social upheaval around the world, and for Greenland that was most prominently in protest against Danish governance and dominance over their culture. Despite proud Inuit tradition and culture dating back thousands of years, the Danish constitution of 1953 incorporated Greenland as a part of their kingdom, and the colonists quickly set about enforcing Danish life onto Greenlanders. Over the next two decades, all school lessons were taught in Danish rather than the native tongue. All secondary education took place in Denmark, forcing the young to emigrate to mainland Denmark to study. The Greenlandic government became an advisory board, beholden to the decisions of the…
A fairly standard music documentary made by and for the featured act's inner circle of family and friends. The music is great, and the exploration of popular music as an expression of a broader cultural mood has potential, but Høegh never really manages to fully connect the dots, also due to an apparent reluctance to do more on the historical side of things than ever so briefly namechecking largely decontextualised highlights of what was happening in 1970s Greenland. A bolder, more satisfying documentary might also have done more with the fact that the one staunchly "apolitical" member of Sumé, who wanted to leave the band when it got too involved with the pro-independence movement, went on to be a major player in Greenland's foremost unionist party.
The 11th Annual Letterboxd Season Challenge: 2025-26
Week 28: Uncharted Lands Week
I thought I was going to see a band documentary and was therefore surprised by how much more this documentary actually is. While members of the band do have their say in both new and old interviews, and you get insights into the songs, since these are also very political, you simultaneously get a good insight into the relationship between Denmark and Greenland, as well as the desire for Greenlandic independence. Thus, surprisingly informative, for example as it also addresses aspects such as relocation.
Bon bah let’s go écouter du rock groenlandais.
Not trying to be mean to anyone else in the reviews for this film, but I think the criticism that this didn't provide enough context wrt Greenlandic history feels very self-centred since this was obviously made for Greenlandic audiences first, and Danish second. I didn't expect the documentaries about jazz music to explain slavery to me, so I don't expect this to explain colonialism. What I do want to hear more about though is Per Berthelsen's path after the breakup of the band because hmm that was interesting. But also I understand why they didn't go there. Another documentary??
Pink Floyd live at pompeii wishes it was the Sumé outdoor concert tour
amaasa brought up the very valuable inquiry of: how did they manage to write two banger of albums with scathing, poignant political and social commentary while also finishing up uni?
and also the film footage was so god damn clean and lively
it's pretty frustrating that people then and people now are not that different (besides the change in medium)yet greenlandic people are still facing similar if not the same issues and problems
"pretty" is putting it lightly
Interesting and stimulating documentary about the first rock band from Greenland that made music in the greenlandish language in the 1970s.
it also gives some information about the Danes and their relationship to Greenland.
Denmark sucks ass
