Unikkaaqtuarniq: Stories from the North
---Inuit & Sami films projected onto a screen made of snow!---
Thur., Feb. 1 to Sun., Feb. 4 | 6 - 9pm Each Night | Free
Lansdowne Park (Outside the Horticulture Building) 1525 Princess Patricia Way, Ottawa
Opening & Welcome reception W/ performance by Silla | Thurs. Feb. 1 @ 6pm | Indoors (Horticulture Bldg.)
Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival presents Unikkaaqtuarniq: Stories from the North, an outdoor screening highlighting Indigenous filmmaking from the Arctic. Experience a 2 programs of short films by Inuit and Sámi filmmakers projected in a theatre made of snow. A welcoming reception will be held indoors at the Horticultural building with performances, snacks, and hot beverages.
"Unikkaaqtuarniq" means Storytelling in the Inuktitut language, and is an ancient form of magic, with the power to connect the past with the present, teach lessons, impart values, heal, to explain the world and connect us to the universe through language and mythology. The stories in this program come from the Inuit people of Canada and Sami of northern Scandinavia, Indigenous peoples who have thrived in the arctic regions of the world for thousands of years, sharing stories inside the Sami lavvu and Inuit tupiq, enduring the changing seasons of dark and light, of colonialism, of climate change. Although these cultures live thousands of kilometres away from each other, they share a common history of resilience in their language, culture and magic through storytelling.
This event is being held in partnership with the Embassies of Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as Winterlude and the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Art Gallery, Gallery 101, SAW Video, the Skábmagovat film festival (Inari, Finland), Wapikoni Mobile, the NFB, and the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre.
We would like to acknowledge that this event takes place on the unceded and unsurrendered land of the Algonquin Nation.
Silla is Cynthia Pitsiulak (Kimmirut, NU) and Charlotte Qamaniq (Iglulik, NU), their name comes from the word “Sila” in their Inuktitut dialect meaning weather. Sila is what surrounds us; it is what connects us to our land, to the moon, sun and stars, the ocean and the air we breathe. In respecting and honouring the need to preserve Inuit culture and paying homage to our land and the strong connection to its spirituality, they experience and perform the sounds of traditional and contemporary throat songs.
PROGRAM #1 (1 Hour)
We Are Still Here
Sofia Jannock • 5:14 • 2016 • Sweden
A powerful song and music video that is a statement about the continuing presence of the Sami people.
Just Give Me the Word
Sara Margrethe Oskal • 4:00 • 2017 • Norway • Sami
Sami artist Emma Elliane raps in her mother tongue about exploitations of the earth. Shot in Guovdageaidnu, a Sami community that has been fighting against multinational mining companies for years
Hila
Adam Bentley • 3:27 • 2016 • Canada
An Inuit woman becomes the first person to ever be featured in a choreographed snowshoe dance video.
Inuk Hunter
George Annanack • 2016 • 4:04 • Canada • Sign Language
A poetic and contemplative film about an Inuk man hunting for northern lights with his camera.
Kuujjuaq
Sammy Gadbois (Inuit) • 4:54 • 2016 • Canada • English
A video essay about the perspective of a teenager on his hometown.
Snow
Nivi Pederson • Greenland • 2017 • 7 Min.
Shovelling snow in the capital of Greenland is a big part of everyday winter life. Three Nuuk residents share their reflections - and frustrations - about this seemingly never-ending task. The Tao of Snow Shovelling!
Jurret On (Under Two Skies)
Anssi Komi, Suvi West • Sapmi - Finland • 2017 • 12 Min.
Pregnant with her first child, Helsinki-based director Suvi West shares her longing to return north to her ancestral lands to ensure her child has a northern Sámi identity. While her Finnish partner Anssi does not feel at home up north, his love for her makes him contemplate a change in lifestyle and a move to Sápmi. This personal documentary is a portrait of a couple at a crossroads in their lives and a testament to one’s deep love for their land.
Shaman
Echo Henoche • Canada • 2017 • 5 min
The story of a ferocious polar bear turned to stone by an Inuk shaman. Hand-drawn and painted by Henoche in a style all her own, Shaman shares with the world her perspective on this Labrador Inuit legend.
Three Thousand
Asinnajaq • Canada • 2017 • 14 Min.
Artist Asinnajaq throws a creative net into the National Film Board of Canada’s audiovisual archive, weaving historic footage of the Inuit into a stunningly original animation. In 14 minutes of luminescent cinema, she recasts the past, present and future of the Inuit in a surprising new light.
PROGRAM #2 (1 Hour)
Sámi Bojá
Elle Sofe Henriksen • 9 min • 2015 • Norway
Mikkel is a reindeer herder who has the entire responsibility for the herd of his family. He has a tough shell like a sámi boy should have. But in his inside there is chaos.
Burning Sun
Elle Márjá Eira • 12 min • 2015 • Norway
Májjen carries a very special hat. All the women in her tribe wear this hat. Its shape resembles a horn. The hat is of great value for her. But the men representing the church mean the hat has a likeness to the horn of the devil itself. So the hats must be extinguished
Edith & Aljosja
Ann Holmgren • 8 min • 2015 • Sweden
A woman and a man, a river keeps them separated. They have to break the laws of nature to come close to each other. A simple story about love that defies cultural differences.
Áile & Grandmother
Siljá Somby • 12 min • 2015 • Norway
Grandmother and Áile are close to one another and Grandmother teaches Áile the powers of Nature and healing, however Áile has a secret that puts their bond to the ultimate test, forcing Áile to open up, but can she save their relationship?
The Afflicted Animal
Egil Pedersen • 15 min • 2015 • Norway
A young girl seeks help for her afflicted dog, but other members in her family need more help. The mother is lost in her own mind, the father wants to cure his loneliness and the girl is searching for truth. The film takes place in a small Sámi home in a remote area in Northern Norway and portrays a dysfunctional relationship between father and daughter
Info: asinabkafestival@gmail.com,
Phone: 613-262-5874 / 613-889-9559
www.asinabkafestival.org