ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER
Wed Nov 5, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Wed. Nov. 5 - 7:00PM
ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER
Dir. Zacharias Kunuk | Canada 2001 | 172 min. | Inuktitut with English subtitles
WITH DIRECTOR ZACHARIAS KUNUK IN PERSON
with a post-screening reception at Urban Shaman Gallery
* Free Admission *
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Co-Presented with Urban Shaman Gallery
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Sponsored by Delta Winnipeg
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Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
Evil in the form of an unknown shaman divides a small community of nomadic Inuit, upsetting its balance and spirit. Twenty years pass. Two brothers emerge to challenge the evil order: Amaqjuaq, the Strong One, and Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner. Atanarjuat wins the hand of the lovely Atuat away from the boastful son of the camp leader, Oki, who vows to get even. Oki ambushes the brothers in their sleep, killing Amaqjuaq, as Atanarjuat miraculously escapes running naked over the spring sea ice. But can he ever escape the cycle of vengeance left behind?
WINNER: Caméra d’or – Cannes 2001
WINNER: Best Canadian Feature Film - 2001 Toronto International Film Festival
More Events Featuring Zacharias Kunuk in Attendance
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SCREENING - KIVIAQ VS. CANADA *Free Admission*
Sat Nov 8 at 1:30 PM at Urban Shaman Gallery (203 - 290 McDermott)
Dir. Zacharias Kunuk | Canada 2006 | Documentary | 46 Mins | Inuktitut with English Subtitles
Zacharias Kunuk travels to Edmonton to meet Kiviaq, Canada’s first Inuit lawyer. Kiviaq is currently suing the federal government with a claim demanding equal rights for Inuit.
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PANEL DISCUSSION - REVOLUTIONARY NOTES: PROTEST AND RESISTANCE IN DOCUMENTARY FILM, with Zacharias Kunuk and Nettie Wild (facilitated by Sean Garrity) *Free Admission*
Sat Nov 8 at 4 PM at Cinematheque
This panel discussion will also be streamed live on ISUMA.TV
Canadian filmmakers Nettie Wild (Fix: The Story of an Addicted City) and Zacharias Kunuk (Kiviaq vs. Canada) talk about the use of documentary film as a tool for social and political change.
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About Zacharias Kunuk
Zacharias Kunuk, working with long-time creative collaborators including Norman Cohn, has developed a unique approach to fictionalizing history with an immense contemporary artistic context that has been described as resembling "neither video art aesthetics nor broadcast television and neither ethnographic verité nor scripted drama". He has done so quite consciously, to meet his very specific objective of creating projects to contribute to the preservation and understanding of Inuit culture and language, and to create jobs within his community.
With the groundbreaking Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, Kunuk rose to the forefront of world cinema in 2001. Shot on Betacam digital video and blown up to 35mm, Atanarjuat challenged perceptions at the time about the capacity of the digital medium (Kunuk has never worked with "film" as a production medium) and Inuit film production. Atanarjuat, based on a thousand year old Inuit legend, was the first Indigenous language feature film to come out of Canada, spoken entirely in Inuktitut. It was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Kunuk was born in Kapuivik in the eastern Arctic. His parents were forced out of their nomadic lifestyle and settled in the Baffin Island hamlet of Igloolik when Kunuk was nine years old. An entirely self-taught filmmaker, Kunuk has stated that the only form of training he ever received was when he was shown how to recharge the battery on his camera. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Kunuk was a successful soapstone carver. In 2002, Kunuk was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Watch the Trailer - Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner