Inuktitut

Qallunajatut (Urban Inuk) follows the lives of three Inuit in Montreal over the course of one hot and humid summer.Only two generations ago Inuit lived in small, nomadic hunting camps scattered across the vast Arctic landscape.… Read more

In June 2003, Cannes prize-winner Zacharias Kunuk's family gathered at their traditional home camp site of Siuraajuk, to share stories and honor the ancestors who came before them: a wedding; a burial; messages from the past.

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Inuit memories and experiences of shamanism, and oral histories about the last shamans practicing in the region of Igloolik, Nunavut. Interviewees range from young people to elders and politicians, but they all share a belief that things happen, and that shamanism is still a living religion.

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Artcirq.

Ningiura is an experimental fiction based on authentic oral histories, traditional knowledge and contemporary reality of Igloolik today.

Filmmaker: Mary Kunuk, Marie-Hélène Cousineau

Filmmaker Contact:

Visit our website www.arnaitvideo.ca or www.isuma.ca

Producer's Name: Arnait Video Productions

An aqtuqsi is a dream from which one must wake up, a paralyzing nightmare. "I decided to put my aqtuqsi in video. It's so interesting because it is not a nightmare or a regular dream: an aqtuqsi is something that can paralyse you when you're sleeping."

Filmmaker: Mary Kunuk

Filmmaker Contact:

In this computer animated work, Mary Kunuk explores stories recalled from her own childhood. As she said, "Recording them on video is my way of keeping them alive." Stories told by Madeline Ivalu.

Filmmaker: Mary Kunuk

Filmmaker Contact:

Visit our website www.arnaitvideo.ca or www.isuma.ca

In Qimuksik (Dog Team) one family travels in the immense and beautiful arctic during spring. Inuaraq teaches his young son how to survive in the old way: driving the dogs, building the igloo, catching seals on the open water, running down caribou to feed the family.    

Inuaraq's family finally arrives at Avaja to a warm welcome. Yet, many changes have taken place. On the hill above the tents, they now find a wooden church and a priest. Sharing the fresh caribou feast, telling stories, Inuit are interrupted by the bell ringing. Inside the church the sermon is clear: Paul 4:22, 'Turn away from your old way of life.'

Igloolik, Fall 1945. Grandmother remembers the old way. In autumn 1945, five families build a stone house to prepare for the coming winter.

Nunavut (Our Land) Episode 3: Qarmaq (Stone House), Igloolik Isuma Productions 1995, Filmmakers: Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn, Pauloosie Qulitalik. Inuktut w/Eng s-t.

Igloolik, Fall 1945. Even here, news of the terrible world war raging outside makes people frightened and uneasy. They talk of the danger of the unknown future, of shamanistic intervention to protect their culture.

Igloolik, Fall 1945. Akkitiq wakes up to a nice day for seal hunting. The stone house is warm and comfortable. Men pack up the dog team and look for seals on the fresh ice,while women work at home. Sometimes, the squabbling of children leads to trouble among families.

Igloolik, Spring 1946. It is the season of never-ending days. Two dog teams searching the spring ice, men and boys hunting day and night. Seals are everywhere: at the breathing holes, sleeping under the warm sun. Amachlainuk has a lucky day.

Igloolik, Spring 1946. Seal pups: springtime delicacy, prized for their soft fur and tender meat. When the pups start coming out on the ice, even small children and grandmothers can hunt.

Packed up to travel, the families move slowly over the wet ice, through lakes of fresh melting snow, hunting on the way. Finding the breathing holes is a joyful game for everyone.

Igloolik, Spring 1946. Inuaraq throws his bones at the river and finds the fish swimming back and forth. Back at the tent Qulitalik sends the young men out with fish spears to try their luck. The walk up the rushing river is exciting but treacherous. Fish are hiding. It's easy to fall in.

Igloolik, Summer 1946. The distant sound of the atookatookatook, the first gas engine to arrive in Igloolik, brings a surprise visitor to Qaisut, island of the walrus hunters. Father Qaukuluk arrives to study Inuit life, to dig in the ancient ruins and to see the hunt. When it's time to go hunting, Inuaraq thinks the Priest will bring bad luck but Qulitalik finally gives in.… Read more