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Indigenous Traditional Stories (15)
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Atanarjuat the Fast RunnerZacharias Kunuk 2000 2 h 41 minThis adaptation of an ancient Inuit legend was filmed in Inuktitut and directed by Inuit filmmakers - making Atanarjuat the first feature film of its kind!
Set in Igloolik, in Nunavut, this is "a powerful drama, not a documentary," reminds the director Kunuk. "It demystifies the exotic, otherwordly aboriginal stereotype by telling a universal story." The clothes, spears, kayaks, sunglasses and dwellings were all painstakingly researched. "We show how our ancestors dressed, how they handled their dog teams, how they argued and laughed.. confronted evil and fought back."
Many enthusiastic viewers have compared this epic story to The Iliad. In the words of one movie critic, "If Homer had been given a video camera, this is what he would have done!"
In Inuktitut, with English subtitles. -
How People Got FireDaniel Janke 2008 16 minThis introspective short animation takes place In the village of Carcross, in the Tagish First Nation. Neighbourhood pillar Grandma Kay tell the local children the tale of how Crow brought fire to people. As the story unfolds, we also meet 12-year-old Tish, an introspective, talented girl who feels drawn to the elder. Here, past and present blend, myth and reality meet, and the metaphor of fire infuses all in a location that lies at the heart of this Native community’s spiritual and cultural memory.
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Lord of the SkyLudmila Zeman & Eugen Spaleny 1991 12 minIn this animated environmental parable, we find a people living in harmony with nature, until carelessness leads to the ravens' revenge. We follow a boy's courageous journey to the spirit world to find the only one who can save his village from the resulting darkness--the Lord of the sky. An artistic unity of form and content, Lord of the Sky is a dazzling combination of 3-D models, puppets, special effects and cut-out paper animation. Its intricate, beautifully rendered drawings reflect the natural environment and cultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest. The film speaks strongly of the need for ecological balance in the world.
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Lumaaq: An Eskimo LegendCo Hoedeman 1975 7 minLumaaq tells the story of a legend widely believed by the Povungnituk Inuit. The artist's drawings are transferred to paper, cut out, and animated under the camera. The result is Inuit prints in action. Dialogue, music and artwork make this film a total cultural transplant.
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The Man, the Snake and the FoxTony Snowsill 1978 11 minIn this film, a traditional Ojibwa legend about a hungry hunter, a huge snake and a wily fox is told to a group of children. Played by puppets, the characters assume increasingly human characteristics, ultimately delivering this moral: do not make promises you cannot keep.
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Medoonak the StormmakerLes Krizsan 1975 13 minThis short film is a retelling of the Mi’kmaq legend of Medoonak, the reckless ruler of the winds and the seas who was persuaded to quieten his magical wings and calm the churning waters so that the Mi’kmaq fishermen could catch food for their starving people. Here, the story is colourfully interpreted in mime, dance and narration by elaborately garbed and masked actors of the Mermaid Theatre of Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
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Masko Nimiwin (The Bear's Dance)Marie-Christine Petiquay 2009 6 minThe spectacular annual powwow at Manawan. Gilles Moar once saw a bear dancing, and this inspired him to pass his culture on to his daughter and the young in his community.
Since 2004, the travelling studios of Wapikoni Mobile have enabled Quebec First Nations youth to express themselves through videos and music. This short film was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2008 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile DVD. -
Maq and the Spirit of the WoodsPhyllis Grant 2006 8 minThis animated short tells the story of Maq, a Mi'kmaq boy who realizes his potential with the help of inconspicuous mentors. When an elder in the community offers him a small piece of pipestone, Maq carves a little person out of it. Proud of his work, the boy wants to impress his grandfather and journeys through the woods to find him. Along the path Maq meets a curious traveller named Mi'gmwesu. Together they share stories, medicine, laughter, and song. Maq begins to care less about making a good impression and more about sharing the knowledge and spirit he's found through his creation. Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children's stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.
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The Man and the Giant: An Eskimo LegendCo Hoedeman 1975 7 minThis short film, in which a hunter is pursued, bound up and carried to a cave, tells the legend of a river, and of how fog came to the land. The story is enacted by Inuit using katadjak or throatsinging. The audience is locked in an alien world of sights and sounds where human activity seems propulsed by primeval forces.
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The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo LegendCo Hoedeman 1971 5 minUsing life-like seal fur puppets, this animated short by Co Hoedeman tells the traditional Inuit tale of the owl and the lemming.
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The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo LegendCaroline Leaf 1974 7 minIn this short animation based on an Inuit legend, a goose captures the fancy of an owl, a weakness for which he will pay dearly. The sound effects and voices are Inuktitut, but the animation leaves no doubt as to the unfolding action. A story with the wry humor characteristic of many Inuit tales.
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Owl and the Raven: An Eskimo LegendCo Hoedeman 1973 6 minUsing life-like seal fur puppets, this animated short by Co Hoedeman tells the traditional Inuit tale of the owl and the raven. Why did the raven’s feathers turn jet-black? And what did the owl have to do with it?
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Salmon PeopleTony Westman 1976 24 minContrasting ancient myth and modern reality, this short documentary examines the legendary relationship between West Coast Indigenous people and salmon, once their staple food. In the mythical realm, we learn how Raven finds riches in the harvest of the salmon, only to lose everything through a thoughtless act against the Spirit of the Salmon. So too does modern man jeopardize his living from the sea by heedless action. Images of ancient spear-fishing and smoke-houses contrast with images of today's Indigenous people operating a seiner and working in a cooperative cannery.
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Summer LegendFrançoise Hartmann 1986 8 minThis short animation tells the tale of the great spirit Glooscap and how he battled with the giant Winter in order to bring Summer to the North and the Mi'kmaq people. Silas T. Rand, a Canadian Baptist clergyman and ethnographer, and Charles Leland, an American humorist and folklorist, first recorded the legend of Glooscap at the end of the 19th century. Since then, the legend has been retold many times, but never more beautifully than in this colourful animated interpretation.
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Totem TalkAnnie Fraziér Henry 1997 22 minTraditional Northwestern Indigenous spiritual images combine with cutting-edge computer animation in this surreal short film about the power of tradition. Three urban Indigenous teens are whisked away to an imaginary land by a magical raven, and there they encounter a totem pole. The totem pole's characters—a raven, a frog and a bear—come to life, becoming their teachers, guides and friends. Features a special interview with J. Bradley Hunt, the celebrated Heiltsuk artist on whose work the characters in Totem Talk are based.
