The films of Zacharias Kunuk
Born in 1957 in a sod house on Baffin Island, Zacharias Kunuk was a carver in 1981 when he sold three sculptures in Montreal to buy a home-video camera and a 27” TV to bring back to Igloolik, a settlement of 500 Inuit who had voted twice to refuse access to outside television. After working for six years for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation as producer and station manager, Kunuk co-founded Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc. in 1990 with Paul Apak Angilirq, Pauloosie Qulitalik and Norman Cohn. In addition to Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, Kunuk has directed more than 30 films and videos screened in film festivals, theatres, museums and art galleries. He has honorary doctorates from Trent University and Wilfred Laurier University and is the winner of the Cannes Caméra d’or, three Genie Awards, a National Arts Award, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, and the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association in 2017. Zacharias Kunuk was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2015.
3 products
Silakut
Subscription access
In this feature documentary, filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk talks to people from the five Northern Baffin Communities affected by the proposed expansion of the Mary River Mine Iron Ore 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 cu...
Hunting with my Ancestors - Bowhead Whale Hunt
Hunting with my Ancestors - Bowhead Whale Hunt
Duration: 1h40Subscription access
Inuit have hunted bowhead whales for thousands of years, using stone tools to hunt these 25-ton mammals. In 2016, Igloolik community received a tag to harvest a bowhead; Zacharias Kunuk documents this hunt - from the selection of hunting captains and planning to the large-scale hunt and the ensuing community-wide harvest and distribution of food.
One Day In the Life of Noah Piugattuk
One Day In the Life of Noah Piugattuk
Duration: 3h46Subscription access
Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, 1961. Noah Piugattuk’s nomadic Inuit band live and hunt by dogteam, just as his ancestors did when he was born in 1900. When the white man known as Boss arrives in camp, what appears as a chance meeting soon opens up the prospect of momentous change.
Silakut
Subscription access
In this feature documentary, filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk talks to people from the five Northern Baffin Communities affected by the proposed expansion of the Mary River Mine Iron Ore 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 cu...
Hunting with my Ancestors - Bowhead Whale Hunt
Hunting with my Ancestors - Bowhead Whale Hunt
Duration: 1h40Subscription access
Inuit have hunted bowhead whales for thousands of years, using stone tools to hunt these 25-ton mammals. In 2016, Igloolik community received a tag to harvest a bowhead; Zacharias Kunuk documents this hunt - from the selection of hunting captains and planning to the large-scale hunt and the ensuing community-wide harvest and distribution of food.
One Day In the Life of Noah Piugattuk
One Day In the Life of Noah Piugattuk
Duration: 3h46Subscription access
Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, 1961. Noah Piugattuk’s nomadic Inuit band live and hunt by dogteam, just as his ancestors did when he was born in 1900. When the white man known as Boss arrives in camp, what appears as a chance meeting soon opens up the prospect of momentous change.
