Original Language: Inuktitut
- Own Voice
Anirniq (Breath)
Director
RJ Sauer
Writer
RJ Sauer
Producers
RJ Sauer, Amy Jones
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Brüdder Productions
- Own Voice
Origin of the Dream Catcher
Director
Donavan Vollant (Innu)
Genres
Animation, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, History, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Subtitles
- Own Voice
Giant Bear
Directors
Daniel Gies, Neil Christopher (Inuk)
Writers
Neil Christopher (Inuk), Jose Angutinngurniq (Inuk)
Genres
Animation, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Dub
- Own Voice
Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves
Director
Neil Christopher (Inuk)
Writer
Neil Christopher (Inuk)
Producers
Neil Christopher (Inuk), Louise Flaherty (Inuk)
Genres
Animation, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN Dub, EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributors
Inhabit Media, Taqqut Productions
- Own Voice
Angakusajaujuq – The Shaman’s Apprentice
Director
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writers
Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
Cast
Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk), Jacky Qrunnut, Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk)
Producers
Neil Christopher (Inuk), Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Nadia Mike
Genre
Animation
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads
Original Languages
English, Inuktitut
- Own Voice
Qaggiq (Gathering Place)
Director
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Cast
Eugene Ikkarnak (Inuk), Pauloosie Qulitalik (Inuk)
Producer
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Environment, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Vtape
- Own Voice
Kajutaijuq: The Spirit That Comes
Director
Scott Brachmayer
Writer
Scott Brachmayer
Cast
Johnny Issaluk
Producer
Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk)
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Environment, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
North Creative Films Inc.
- Own Voice
Aviliaq (Entwined)
Director
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)
Arnaquq-Baril is an award-winning Inuk filmmaker whose work has screened on CBC, APTN, and at festivals like Hot Docs, imagineNATIVE, TIFF and many others. Her credits include the award-winning doc Angry Inuk, Aviliaq, Inuit High Kick, Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos and The Embargo Project. She also produced the award winning film The Grizzlies, the 2022 film Slash/Back, and co-founded the Inuit production company Red Marrow Media. She is currently producing the documentary Twice Colonized.
Writer
Dallas Varcoe
Cast
Miali Buscemi, Malaya Qaunirq Chapman
Producers
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk), Miriam Levin-Gold, Anne-Marie Stuart
Genres
Drama, Romance
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Subtitles
Maïna
Venturing north into enemy territory, Maïna is herself captured by Natak, the Inuit clan’s leader, and must navigate the perilous journey with him, to the “Land of Ice.”
Based on the novel by award-winning author Dominique Demers, this gripping and visually stunning film was nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture.
Director
Michel Poulette
Montreal writer/director Poulette’s film Louis 19, le roi des ondes earned the Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature as well as the Golden Reel Award. His feature Maïna was nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards and three Jutras. He directed Agent of Influence starring Oscar winner Christopher Plummer, several recent TV movies and the series Real Detective.
Writer
Pierre Billon
Cast
Uapeshkuss Thernish, Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis), Graham Greene (Oneida), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis)
Producers
Yves Fortin, Karine Martin
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Literary Adaptation
Original Languages
English, Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Equinox Films
- Own Voice
Tia and Piujuq
Tia (Bshara) is a 10-year-old refugee from Syria, living in Montreal and struggling to make friends and feel comfortable in her new environment. While her parents are preoccupied with her mother’s pregnancy and the challenges of everyday life in a new place, Tia is left mostly to her own devices.
Everything changes when she discovers a magical portal that transports her to Igloolik, a community in the Arctic Circle. There she meets Piujuq (Tulugarjuk), an Inuk girl who she quickly forms a deep bond with in spite of their cultural differences. Through their friendship, the stories of Piujuq’s grandmother, and their wanderings across the striking northern landscape, the girls are immersed in Inuit myth and magic.
A heartwarming magical-realist fable about friendship and discovery, Tia and Piujuq is a delightful adventure for all ages.
Director
Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk)
Writers
Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Samuel Cohn-Cousineau
Cast
Tia Bshara, Nuvvija Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk)
Genres
Drama, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Languages
English, French, Inuktitut, Other Language
Language Versions
EN CC, FR Subtitles, Other Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Isuma Distribution International
- Own Voice
Uvanga
Directors
Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk)
Writer
Marie-Hélène Cousineau
Cast
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq (Inuk), Marianne Farley
Producers
Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk)
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Languages
English, Inuktitut
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media
- Own Voice
Maliglutit (Searchers)
Like Ford’s film, Kunuk's Maliglutit (Searchers) explores the repercussions of violence, asking whether these hunters have begun to act like those who have torn apart their family. Very unlike Ford, Kunuk questions not only the colonial ideology inherent to the western genre, but also the possibility of justice in a seemingly unjust world. With a tale as timeless as the landscape in which it is set, Canada’s foremost Inuk filmmaker has provided us with another classic.
Directors
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writers
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Norman Cohn
Cast
Benjamin Kunuk (Inuk), Karen Ivalu (Inuk), Jonah Qunaq
Producers
Cara Di Staulo, Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles, Other Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Isuma Distribution International
- Own Voice
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
“I am not surprised that The Fast Runner has been a box office hit in its opening engagements. It is unlike anything most audiences will have ever seen, and yet it tells a universal story.”
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Director
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writer
Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk)
Cast
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq (Inuk), Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Natar Ungalaaq (Inuk), Sylvia Ivalu (Inuk)
Producers
Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk), Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Germaine Ying Gee Wong
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Classics, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Vtape/Criterion
- Own Voice
One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk
It is 1961 in Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, and Noah Piugattuk’s nomadic Inuit band live and hunt by dog team as his ancestors did when he was born in 1900. When the white man known as Boss arrives at Piugattuk’s hunting camp, what appears as a chance meeting soon opens up the prospect of momentous change.
Boss is an agent of the government, assigned to get Piugattuk to move his band to permanent housing, assimilate his children into settler society and give up their traditional way of life.
Told through the extended showdown between Inuit camp leader Noah Piugattuk (Kotierk) and a government emissary (Bodnia) (as well as the translator who must help them communicate), One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk is a deeply absorbing account of a little-known and important piece of Inuit and Canadian history.
“One Day In The Life Of Noah Piugattuk illustrates Inuit-colonial relationships brilliantly.” - Kelly Boutsalis, NOW Magazine
Director
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writers
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Norman Cohn
Cast
Apayata Kotierk (Inuk), Kim Bodnia, Benjamin Kunuk (Inuk), Tessa Kunuk, Mark Taqqaugaq
Producers
Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles, Other Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
RDV Canada
Experimental Eskimos
Director
Barry Greenwald
Cast
Eric Tagoona, Zebedee Nungak, Peter Ittinuar
Producer
Peter Raymont
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, History, Social Justice & Politics
Original Languages
English, Inuktitut
Canadian Distributor
White Pine Pictures
- Own Voice
Before Tomorrow
The two women and Ningiuq’s grandson Maniq (Paul-Dylan Ivalu) are dropped off on a remote island to dry and store fish for winter. However, as summer turns to fall, they wait in vain for the others to pick them up, and Ningiuq worries that her worst fears about the impending advance of white Europeans are coming true.
Directors
Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk)
Writers
Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Susan Avingaq (Inuk)
Cast
Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk), Paul-Dylan Ivalu (Inuk)
Producer
Stéphane Rituit
Genre
Drama
Interests
Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Version
EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
eOne
- Own Voice
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
Director
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writers
Pauloosie Qulitalik (Inuk), Louis Uttak (Inuk), Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk), Herve Paniaq (Inuk)
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, History, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Languages
English, Inuktitut, Other Language
Canadian Distributor
eOne
- Own Voice
Angry Inuk
The seal hunt is not exactly a laughing matter, but humour and technical savvy go a long way to debunk certain claims. Wryly tackling both misinformation and aggressive appeals to emotion, Inuk filmmaker Arnaquq-Baril equips herself and her community with the powers of social media — and yes, #sealfies — to reframe a controversial topic as a cultural issue in this 2016 Audience Award–winning Hot Docs hit.
“Angry Inuk delivers important information about an issue we tend to think we know everything about, and delivers a powerful emotional punch.”
—Susan G. Cole, NOW Magazine
Director
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)
Arnaquq-Baril is an award-winning Inuk filmmaker whose work has screened on CBC, APTN, and at festivals like Hot Docs, imagineNATIVE, TIFF and many others. Her credits include the award-winning doc Angry Inuk, Aviliaq, Inuit High Kick, Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos and The Embargo Project. She also produced the award winning film The Grizzlies, the 2022 film Slash/Back, and co-founded the Inuit production company Red Marrow Media. She is currently producing the documentary Twice Colonized.
Writer
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)
Producers
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk), Bonnie Thompson
Genre
Documentary
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Environment, ESL, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads
Original Languages
English, Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN CC, FR CC
Canadian Distributor
National Film Board (NFB)