Zacharias Kunuk

A young shaman must face her first test: a trip underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill.

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

The evolution of the depiction of the various Native American peoples in cinema, from the silent era to the present day: how their image on the screen has changed the way to understand their history and culture.

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) returns with this Arctic epic inspired by the classic John Ford western of the same name, about a vengeful husband who sets off in pursuit of the violent men who kidnapped his wife and destroyed his home.

Based on the journal of Knud Rasmussen's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922 across arctic Canada. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. It tells the story of the last great Inuit shaman and his beautiful and headstrong daughter; the shaman must decide whether to accept the Christian religion that is converting the Inuit across Greenland.

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.

A young shaman must face her first test: a trip underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill.

A young shaman must face her first test: a trip underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill.

A young shaman must face her first test: a trip underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill.

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) returns with this Arctic epic inspired by the classic John Ford western of the same name, about a vengeful husband who sets off in pursuit of the violent men who kidnapped his wife and destroyed his home.

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) returns with this Arctic epic inspired by the classic John Ford western of the same name, about a vengeful husband who sets off in pursuit of the violent men who kidnapped his wife and destroyed his home.

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) returns with this Arctic epic inspired by the classic John Ford western of the same name, about a vengeful husband who sets off in pursuit of the violent men who kidnapped his wife and destroyed his home.

Based on the journal of Knud Rasmussen's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922 across arctic Canada. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. It tells the story of the last great Inuit shaman and his beautiful and headstrong daughter; the shaman must decide whether to accept the Christian religion that is converting the Inuit across Greenland.

Based on the journal of Knud Rasmussen's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922 across arctic Canada. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. It tells the story of the last great Inuit shaman and his beautiful and headstrong daughter; the shaman must decide whether to accept the Christian religion that is converting the Inuit across Greenland.

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.

Four Inuit families build a qaggiq, a large communal igloo, to mark the approach of spring with singing and games. A young man woos a girl but her parents are in disagreement over whether he shall get to marry her.

Four Inuit families build a qaggiq, a large communal igloo, to mark the approach of spring with singing and games. A young man woos a girl but her parents are in disagreement over whether he shall get to marry her.

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.'

A group of Nunavut elders travel to five museums in North America to see and identify artifacts, tools and clothing collected from their Inuit ancestors. Directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Bernadette Dean.

In 1994 one of Canada’s most respected Inuit elders -95 year old Noah Piugatuk – announced that he wanted to taste the bowhead whale one more time before he died. Honouring the elders wish, Piugatuk’s son-in-law caught an illegal whale near Igloolikin September 1994. A few months later, the whale hunters were charged and ordered to stand trial. In June 1996, the government finally dropped all charges against the Igloolik hunters. In august 1996, Inuit hunters from across the arctic gathered in Repulse Bay to catch the first legal bowhead in more than forty years. Arviq! traces the history of the bowhead in the Arctic up to the first legal hunt in 1996.

In 1994 one of Canada’s most respected Inuit elders -95 year old Noah Piugatuk – announced that he wanted to taste the bowhead whale one more time before he died. Honouring the elders wish, Piugatuk’s son-in-law caught an illegal whale near Igloolikin September 1994. A few months later, the whale hunters were charged and ordered to stand trial. In June 1996, the government finally dropped all charges against the Igloolik hunters. In august 1996, Inuit hunters from across the arctic gathered in Repulse Bay to catch the first legal bowhead in more than forty years. Arviq! traces the history of the bowhead in the Arctic up to the first legal hunt in 1996.

In 1994 one of Canada’s most respected Inuit elders -95 year old Noah Piugatuk – announced that he wanted to taste the bowhead whale one more time before he died. Honouring the elders wish, Piugatuk’s son-in-law caught an illegal whale near Igloolikin September 1994. A few months later, the whale hunters were charged and ordered to stand trial. In June 1996, the government finally dropped all charges against the Igloolik hunters. In august 1996, Inuit hunters from across the arctic gathered in Repulse Bay to catch the first legal bowhead in more than forty years. Arviq! traces the history of the bowhead in the Arctic up to the first legal hunt in 1996.

Director Zacharias Kunuk explores Sirmilik National Park, near the Nunavut community of Pond Inlet, through the voice of an Inuit elder. Winner "Best Short Documentary" 2012 Genie Awards.

For the Igloolik Inuit, summer is the time of Nunaqpa, 'going inland,' that is, hunting for caribou to get sufficient meat provisions for the cold winter ahead. During a summer in the 1930s, two Igloolik families go hunting, while an old couple awaits their return.

For the Igloolik Inuit, summer is the time of Nunaqpa, 'going inland,' that is, hunting for caribou to get sufficient meat provisions for the cold winter ahead. During a summer in the 1930s, two Igloolik families go hunting, while an old couple awaits their return.

For the Igloolik Inuit, summer is the time of Nunaqpa, 'going inland,' that is, hunting for caribou to get sufficient meat provisions for the cold winter ahead. During a summer in the 1930s, two Igloolik families go hunting, while an old couple awaits their return.

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.

An 11-year-old is taught by his grandfather to capture his first polar bear.

An 11-year-old is taught by his grandfather to capture his first polar bear.

An 11-year-old is taught by his grandfather to capture his first polar bear.

In 1991, Igloolik Isuma Productions gathered 13 Igloolik elders for a week of discussion, to choose and then record 24 traditional ajaja songs considered most important to preserve for the future: where did the songs come from, how where they made and how have they been passed down generation to generation? Each elder remembers their own family's ajaja songs and explains how they were created by poets taking their words from their life experiences. The video, translated and subtitled for the first time, includes priceless footage of these elders singing and drumming the songs, and their playfully combative and humorous interactions are a joy to watch. The process also allowed Isuma to publish a full CD of the selected songs and to use and preserve many of them in Isuma's films over the next 25 years.

As summer ends near Igloolik in the 1930's, three families build a saputi to trap fish going upriver for the winter. The days are getting shorter and young people daydream, while waiting for fish to come. But nature is not always predictable.... [Third Isuma recreated fiction, 1993.]

As summer ends near Igloolik in the 1930's, three families build a saputi to trap fish going upriver for the winter. The days are getting shorter and young people daydream, while waiting for fish to come. But nature is not always predictable.... [Third Isuma recreated fiction, 1993.]

From the Unikaatuatiit (Story Tellers) Series. A film by Isuma Productions.

After a mysterious death, Kaujak and Sapa are separated despite being promised to each other at birth. With the help of spirit guides, efforts are made to restore harmony in this Arctic fairy tale set in an Inuit community.

After a mysterious death, Kaujak and Sapa are separated despite being promised to each other at birth. With the help of spirit guides, efforts are made to restore harmony in this Arctic fairy tale set in an Inuit community.

1961. In Kapuivik, an Inuit man named Noah Piugattuk and his compatriots are visited by a white man who says they have to move to a reservation.

1961. In Kapuivik, an Inuit man named Noah Piugattuk and his compatriots are visited by a white man who says they have to move to a reservation.

1961. In Kapuivik, an Inuit man named Noah Piugattuk and his compatriots are visited by a white man who says they have to move to a reservation.

Zacharias Kunuk tackles the subject of the High Arctic Relocation from an Inuit point of view in the documentary Exile. In 1953, Inuit families were forcibly relocated to the uninhabited and inhospitable high arctic, 1500 kilometres north of their traditional homeland of Nunavik, in northern Québec. The goal of the move was to extend Canadian claims of sovereignty to Ellesmere Island. As a result, Inuit people were forced to endure the pain of families torn apart and many years of hardship. With devastating first-person accounts of survival, the trail of broken promises and shameful practices of the government and the RCMP, this powerful documentary captures the long-standing effects of these events from the perspectives of the people who were forced to endure them.

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.

In a feature documentary, Silakut, filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk talks to people from the five Northern Baffin Communities affected by the proposed expansion of the Mary River Mine. These conversations clearly show the predicament these communities are in – being torn between wanting to support the opportunities the expanded mine brings – but also wanting to protect their environment and culture. This film was edited from the footage shot and broadcast live in May and August, 2019.

In an increasingly urban nation, Canada’s national parks are a treasured escape into extraordinary beauty and rugged wilderness. If the Group of Seven were an introduction to the landscape’s majesty, National Parks Project is the next logical chapter. Fifty-two contemporary artists from across the country, whose talents are as diverse as the parks they set out to explore, used their surroundings as a source of inspiration to blend musical and cinematic skills into collaboratively crafted vignettes. Epic in its ambition to celebrate these locales during Parks Canada’s centennial year, this omnibus film resonates with the knowledge that our unprotected land is more vulnerable than ever. Including films by Zacharius Kunuk, Peter Lynch, Sturla Gunnarsson and John Walker, and music by Sarah Harmer, Sam Roberts, Cadence Weapon and The Besnard Lakes, among many others, National Parks Project is a one-of-a-kind documentary experience.