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Inuit cinema at the NFB
Enjoy this selection of titles from the NFB’s rich collection of films made by Inuit filmmakers.
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Arctic SongGermaine Arnattaujuq , Neil Christopher , … 2021 6 minIn this six-minute short, Inuit artist, storyteller and co-director Germaine Arnattaujuq (Arnaktauyok) depicts Inuit creation stories in all their glory. Arctic Song tells stories of how the land, sea and sky came to be in beautifully rendered animation. Telling traditional Inuit tales from the Iglulik region of Nunavut through song, the film revitalizes ancient knowledge and shares it with future generations. -
Nalujuk NightJennie Williams 2021 13 minNalujuk Night is an up close look at an exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, Labrador Inuit tradition. Every January 6th from the dark of the Nunatsiavut night, the Nalujuit appear on the sea ice. They walk on two legs, yet their faces are animalistic, skeletal, and otherworldly. Snow crunches underfoot as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain.
Despite the frights, Nalujuk Night is a beloved annual event, showing that sometimes it can be fun to be scared. Rarely witnessed outside of Nunatsiavut, this annual event is an exciting chance for Inuit, young and old, to prove their courage and come together as a community to celebrate culture and tradition.
Inuk filmmaker Jennie Williams brings audiences directly into the action in this bone-chilling black and white short documentary about a winter night like no other. -
Nalujuk Unnunga (Inuktitut Version)Jennie Williams 2021 13 minNalujuk Unnunga takunnâvuk Kanittumik Kittainganattumik, ammalu ilangani itsinattotluni, Labrador Inuit piusituKagijanga. Januar 6-imi tamât pisimatlutik tâttumit Nunatsiavut unnungani, taikkua Nalujuit AlakkaKattavut sikummit. PisuKattajut maggonik niunnik atutlutik, kenangit sollu omajut, saunituinnait, ammalu sollu asianit silatsuamit pisimajut. Aputik tusattausok siKullujuk tutittaugami itigakkut tikivallialimmata: Inuit nunalimmit Nainimi.
KuatsâKattagaluappata, Nalujuk Unnunga piutsagijauvuk jâri tamât piniannigijauKattatluni, takutitsijuk ilangani KuvianattoKattavuk itsigiamut. TakutsausiaKattalungituk silatâni Nunatsiavummit, tamanna jâri tamât piniannik Kittainganattuk pivitsaKattisiKattajuk Inunnik, inosuttunik ammalu jârikKutujojunut, takutitsigiamut itsiKattangitonninginnik ammalu katiutigiamut nunalimmiungutlutik ullusiugiamut ilukkusigijaujumik ammalu piusituKagijaujumik.
Inuk taggajâliuttik Jennie Williams takutitsivuk piniannigijauKattajumik iluani tapvani kakillânattumik Kinnitautluni KaKuttautlunillu naittumik sanajausimajumut pitjutiKajumut ukiumi unnusautillugu asiKalugani.
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Being PreparedCarol Kunnuk 2021 9 minAs the global pandemic reaches into the Arctic Archipelago, Inuk filmmaker Carol Kunnuk documents how unfamiliar new protocols affect her family and community. Her vividly specific soundtrack juxtaposes snippets from local radio broadcasts, issuing health advisories in both Inuktitut and English, with the sweet sounds of children at play. A richly detailed and tender account of disruption and adjustment.
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Evan's DrumOssie Michelin 2021 14 minAn adventurous young boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Evan’s Drum is a joyful visit to a family’s loving home, and an uplifting story of cultural pride. After generations of silence, the rhythm of the traditional Inuit drum has returned to Labrador, and seven-year-old Evan is part of the new generation that will keep its heartbeat strong.
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Evanniup Kilautinga (Inuktitut Version)Ossie Michelin 2021 14 minlkullagaittuk nukappiak, pigumatsiajullu anânanga Kilautijagiamik isumaKatsialutik pitsiagumajok ilagellutik Happy Valley-Goose Baymi 'Evanniup Kilautinga' Kuvianattuk pulâgiagvik ilaget angigangani, uKilliumititsitluni ilikKusigijattinik. Akunialuk nipaKalaugunnaimat tamanna, pinguatauninga Kilautik utisimalimmijuk Labradorimi, tainna Evanni sepaKatuinnatuk pinguaKatausongunialittuk mânna, ommatinga sangijonialittilugu.
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ShamanEcho Henoche 2017 5 minThis animated short tells the story of a ferocious polar bear turned to stone by an Inuk shaman. The tale is based on emerging filmmaker Echo Henoche's favourite legend, as told to her by her grandfather in her home community of Nain, Nunatsiavut, on Labrador's North Coast. Hand-drawn and painted by Henoche in a style all her own, Shaman is the first collaboration between the Labrador artist and the NFB.
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Three ThousandAsinnajaq 2017 14 minIn this short film, Inuk artist Asinnajaq plunges us into a sublime imaginary universe—14 minutes of luminescent, archive-inspired cinema that recast the present, past and future of her people in a radiant new light. Diving into the NFB’s vast archive, she parses the complicated cinematic representation of the Inuit, harvesting fleeting truths and fortuitous accidents from a range of sources—newsreels, propaganda, ethnographic docs, and work by Indigenous filmmakers. Embedding historic footage into original animation, she conjures up a vision of hope and beautiful possibility.
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Three Thousand (Inuktitut Version)2017 14 minIn this short film, Inuk artist Asinnajaq plunges us into a sublime imaginary universe—14 minutes of luminescent, archive-inspired cinema that recast the present, past and future of her people in a radiant new light. Diving into the NFB’s vast archive, she parses the complicated cinematic representation of the Inuit, harvesting fleeting truths and fortuitous accidents from a range of sources—newsreels, propaganda, ethnographic docs, and work by Indigenous filmmakers. Embedding historic footage into original animation, she conjures up a vision of hope and beautiful possibility.
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BreathsNyla Innuksuk 2016 4 minIn this evocative short documentary, Inuk singer-songwriter and humanitarian Susan Aglukark weaves together stories of artistry, family, and belonging as she explores the complex cultural shifts of the last 50 years of Inuit life. Turning her lens on the turbulence of colonial transition, director Nyla Innuksuk examines the forces that shaped Aglukark's voice and how that voice is now being translated for a new generation of Inuit artists.
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Breaths (Inuktitut Version)Nyla Innuksuk 2016 4 minIn this evocative short documentary, Inuk singer-songwriter and humanitarian Susan Aglukark weaves together stories of artistry, family, and belonging as she explores the complex cultural shifts of the last 50 years of Inuit life. Turning her lens on the turbulence of colonial transition, director Nyla Innuksuk examines the forces that shaped Aglukark's voice and how that voice is now being translated for a new generation of Inuit artists.
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Nowhere LandRosie Bonnie Ammaaq 2015 14 minThis short documentary serves as a quiet elegy for a way of life, which exists now only in the memories of those who experienced it. Bonnie Ammaaq and her family remember it vividly. When Bonnie was a little girl, her parents packed up their essentials, bundled her and her younger brother onto a long, fur-lined sled and left the government-manufactured community of Igloolik to live off the land, as had generations of Inuit before them.
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Stories from Our Land Vol. 2 - Finding HomeNyla Innuksuk 2013 9 minThis short film chronicles filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk's emotional journey to Nunavut to connect with the land of her ancestors and with her Inuk father, whom she has not seen in over 20 years. Nyla's return to her Igloolik birthplace culminates with a lesson on lighting a qulliq, the traditional Inuit oil lamp. Stories from Our Land 2.0 is the latest edition of the NFB's Indigenous short film inititiative. This edition helped four Inuit youth hone the creative skills and tell their stories, offering viewers insightful perspectives on life in Nunavut.
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TimutiJobie Weetaluktuk 2012 29 minIn this short film, artist Jobie Weetaluktuk turns his gaze on his family and the power of ritual through the story of a young woman and her unplanned child. In Inukjuak, an Inuit community in the Eastern Arctic, a baby boy has come into the world and they call him Timuti, a name that recurs across generations of his people, evoking other Timutis, alive and dead, who will nourish his spirit and shape his destiny.
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Stories from Our Land Vol. 2 - Strength, Flexibility, and EnduranceAllen Auksaq 2013 10 minThis short film explores why Inuit games were more than just fun to pass the time; it required the athletes to be in peak physical condition to perform these ancient feats of strength. Stories from Our Land 2.0 is the latest edition of the NFB's Indigenous short film inititiative. This edition helped four Inuit youth hone the creative skills and tell their stories, offering viewers insightful perspectives on life in Nunavut.
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Stories from Our Land Vol. 2 - The Vending MachineJessica Kotierk 2013 7 minThis short film tells the story of an Inuk entrepreneur operating a lonely airport vending machine in Canada's second most northerly community. Stories from Our Land 2.0 is the latest edition of the NFB's Indigenous short film inititiative. This edition helped four Inuit youth hone the creative skills and tell their stories, offering viewers insightful perspectives on life in Nunavut.
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Stories from Our Land 1.5: Family Making SledsRosie Bonnie Ammaaq 2011 5 minThis short film portrays a family working together to make sleds. While the father expertly threads rope through runners and slats, expertly tying knots to hold them together, his wife and child work on their own stylized sleds. The film pays homage to the craft, while also capturing the sheer joy of downhill sled racing. Stories from Our Land: 1.5 gave 6 Nunavut filmmakers the opportunity to each create a 5-minute short. Each film had to be made without the use of interviews or narration while telling a northern story from a northern perspective. The project was a collaboration between the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.
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Stories from Our Land 1.5: TideEricka Chemko 2011 3 minThis beautiful short film captures the majesty of ice sculpted by wind and water. By using time-lapse imagery, Iqaluit filmmaker Ericka Chemko reveals the dynamic intertidal dance of water and ice in the Arctic. Stories from Our Land: 1.5 gave 6 Nunavut filmmakers the opportunity to each create a 5-minute short. Each film had to be made without the use of interviews or narration while telling a northern story from a northern perspective. The project was a collaboration between the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.
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Stories from Our Land 1.5: Inngiruti - The Thing that Sings!Nyla Innuksuk 2011 5 minThis short documentary filmed in Pangnirtung features 2 elders reminiscing about the dances held in their community 50 years ago. One of the elders is master accordion player Simeonie Keenainak, and soon he's making toe-tapping music with his instrument. In this celebration of the pleasures of music and dance, Keenainak plays for the enjoyment of friends, family, and the community at large. Stories from Our Land: 1.5 gave 6 Nunavut filmmakers the opportunity to each create a 5-minute short. Each film had to be made without the use of interviews or narration while telling a northern story from a northern perspective. The project was a collaboration between the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.
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Stories from Our Land 1.5: If You Want to Get Married... You Have to Learn How to Build an Igloo!Allen Auksaq 2011 5 minIn the spirit of the 1949 NFB classic How to Build an Igloo, this short film records Dean Ittuksarjuat as he constructs the traditional Inuit home. From the first cut of the snow knife, to the carving of the entrance after the last block of snow has been placed on the roof, this is an inside-and-out look at the entire fascinating process. Stories from Our Land: 1.5 gave 6 Nunavut filmmakers the opportunity to each create a 5-minute short. Each film had to be made without the use of interviews or narration while telling a northern story from a northern perspective. The project was a collaboration between the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.
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Stories From Our Land 1.5: NippaqQajaaq Ellsworth 2011 3 minIn this short film, hunter Joshua Atagooyuk stands by a seal's breathing hole. He hunches over, silent, waiting. The sun crosses the sky, hours pass, yet Atagooyuk remains, waiting for the right moment to strike. Stories from Our Land: 1.5 gave 6 Nunavut filmmakers the opportunity to each create a 5-minute short. Each film had to be made without the use of interviews or narration while telling a northern story from a northern perspective. The project was a collaboration between the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.
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Nunavut Animation Lab: QalupalikAme Papatsie 2010 5 minThis animated short tells the story of Qalupalik, a part-human sea monster that lives deep in the Arctic Ocean and preys on children who do not listen to their parents or elders. That is the fate of Angutii, a young boy who refuses to help out in his family's camp, opting instead to play by the shoreline. But one day, Qalupalik seizes him and drags him away. Angutii's father, a great hunter, must then embark on a lengthy kayak journey to try and bring his son home.
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Nunavut Animation Lab: LumaajuuqAlethea Arnaquq-Baril 2010 7 minThis animated short by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril tells a tragic and twisted story about the dangers of revenge. A cruel mother mistreats her son, feeding him dog meat and forcing him to sleep in the cold. A loon, who tells the boy that his mother blinded him, helps the child regain his eyesight. Then the boy seeks revenge, releasing his mother's lifeline as she harpoons a whale and watching her drown. Based on a portion of the epic Inuit legend "The Blind Boy and the Loon."
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Nunavut Animation Lab Lumaajuuq (Inuktitut Version)2010 7 minThis animated short tells the story of Qalupalik, a part-human sea monster that lives deep in the Arctic Ocean and preys on children who do not listen to their parents or elders. That is the fate of Angutii, a young boy who refuses to help out in his family’s camp and who plays by the shoreline... until one day Qalupalik seizes him and drags him away. Angutii's father, a great hunter, must then embark on a lengthy kayak journey to try and bring his son home.
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InukShopJobie Weetaluktuk 2009 2 minIn this short film, filmmaker Jobie Weetaluktuk mixes archival and new footage to make a statement about the appropriation of Inuit culture throughout history.
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Nunavut Animation Lab Qalupalik (Inuktitut Version)2010 5 minThis animated short tells the story of Qalupalik, a part-human sea monster that lives deep in the Arctic Ocean and preys on children who do not listen to their parents or elders. That is the fate of Angutii, a young boy who refuses to help out in his family's camp, opting instead to play by the shoreline. But one day, Qalupalik seizes him and drags him away. Angutii's father, a great hunter, must then embark on a lengthy kayak journey to try and bring his son home.
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If the Weather PermitsElisapie Isaac 2003 27 minThis short documentary studies life in the village of Kangirsujuaq, Nunavik. In this community on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, children’s laughter fills the streets while the old people ponder the passage of time. They are nomads of the wide-open spaces who are trying to get used to the strange feeling of staying put. While the teenagers lap up Southern culture and play golf on the tundra to kill time, the Elders are slowly dying, as their entire culture seems to fade away.
Elisapie Isaac, a filmmaker born in Nunavik, decides to return to her roots on this breathtaking land. To bridge the growing gap between the young and the old, she speaks to her grandfather, now deceased, and confides in him her hopes and fears. Grappling with isolation, family relationships, resource extraction, land-based knowledges, the influence of Southern culture and the ongoing impacts of colonialism on Inuit ways of life, Elisapie Isaac offers a nuanced portrait of the North. -
My Village in NunavikBobby Kenuajuak 1999 46 minShot during 3 seasons, this documentary tenderly portrays village life in Puvirnituq, on the shores of Hudson Bay in northern Quebec, as well as the elements that forge the character of its people: their history, the great open spaces, and their unflagging humour. This film was produced as part of an emerging filmmaker competition for Indigenous filmmakers. It was directed by Bobby Kenuajuak of Puvirnituq, age 23.
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Inuuvunga - I Am Inuk, I Am AliveBobby Echalook , Sarah Idlout , … 2004 57 minIn this feature-length documentary, 8 Inuit teens with cameras offer a vibrant and contemporary view of life in Canada's North. They also use their newly acquired film skills to confront a broad range of issues, from the widening communication gap between youth and their elders to the loss of their peers to suicide. In Inuktitut with English subtitles.
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Inuuvunga, I am Inuk, I am Alive (Inuktitut version)2004 57 minIn this feature-length documentary, 8 Inuit teens with cameras offer a vibrant and contemporary view of life in Canada’s North. They also use their newly acquired film skills to confront a broad range of issues, from the widening communication gap between youth and their elders to the loss of their peers to suicide.
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Amarok's Song - The Journey to NunavutMartin Kreelak & Ole Gjerstad 1998 1 h 15 minIn this feature-length documentary, three generations of the Caribou Inuit family come together to tell the story of their journey as Canada's last nomads. From the independent life of hunting on the Keewatin tundra to taking the reins of the new territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999, we see it all.
The film is the result of a close collaboration between Ole Gjerstad, a southern Canadian, and Martin Kreelak, an Inuk. It's Martin's family that we follow, as the story is told through his own voice, through those of the Elders, and through those of the teens and young adults who were born in the settlements and form the first generation of those growing up with satellite TV and a permanent home.
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The Hunters (Asivaqtiin)Mosha Michael 1977 13 minReleased in 1977, this beautifully paced short was photographed, directed, edited and narrated by Mosha Michael — one of Canada’s first Inuk filmmakers. Michael offers a first-hand account of a three-week Arctic hunting excursion, a rehabilitative trip undertaken by young offenders and their families. Dropping anchor at various points throughout Frobisher Bay, they fish for cod, hunt for seal and caribou, and renew family and community ties. Shooting on a Super 8 camera and providing his own narration, Michael crafts an engaging document of Inuk life in the 1970s. An original score features performances by Kowmageak Arngnakolak and Michael himself.
Viewer Advisory: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter. -
Natsik HuntingMosha Michael 1975 7 min25-year-old Mosha Michael made an assured directorial debut with this seven-minute short, a relaxed narration-free depiction of an Inuk seal hunt. Having participated in a 1974 Super 8 workshop in Frobisher Bay, Michael shot and edited the film himself. His voice can be heard on the appealing guitar-based soundtrack. Released in 1975, Natsik Hunting is believed to be Canada’s first Inuk-directed film.
Viewer Advisory: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter.
