At home in the world

The film is a portrayal of Else Marie Juliussen, living on one of the northernmost islands in North Norway, Sørøya.

This ethnographic documentary is a filmed field study based on one life-story - that of Else Marie Juliussen, a woman in her 70s living in Sørøya in northern Norway. Through 'participant observational' filmmaking, the documentary introduces the audience to Else's life and daily duties, her personal concepts of curing and healing and her spiritual bond with the environment. Through the course of the film, Else shares her wisdom, knowledge and original perspectives on health and illness, and her use of common sense, local knowledge, experimentation, faith and home-made remedies, in the process of coping with serious illnesses.

'At Home in the World' came into being through cooperation between several actors: The doctor and researcher Eivind Melok's wish to portray some of his ex-patients on Sørøya as a professional biography of what he had experienced, learned and misunderstood when working in this environment, with the aim to present this portrayal to his medical students; the director Rossella Ragazzi's interest in the project and her suggestion to make it a one person life-story; the philosopher Holger Hole who came from the same environments and whose interest was in studying coastal Sami relations to the landscape; and finally, of Else Marie Juliussen, who generously shared her thoughts and ideas and the doors to her home.