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INUKJUAK
Inukjuak is an exploration of the past, the present, and the future of the Inuit village of Inukjuak.
The film's narrative follows strong voices from the community - including the co-director Geela Kumarluk, Tommy Palliser, a leader of the Unaaq men's association, local co-producer Betsy Epoo, and Charlie Nowkawalk - a founding member of Unaaq and a historian preserving Inuit culture.
Through discussions led by Geela, she unearths her community's past: from the 1950s high arctic relocation to discussing the traumatic experiences of the residents schools and their effect today. These interviews echo those with community leaders working towards change and the youth of Inukjuak's view of the Inuit's past and future. Time spent in Inukjuak visiting community institutions and events highlights the community as a cohesive body, a force to be reckoned with, and the incredible beauty of its land.
Through beauty and pain, Geela leads a film that will draw an accurate and breathtaking portrait of the heightened life of the Inuit community of Inukjuak today.
The Team
Hannah Walti - Director
Hannah is a French filmmaker. She grew up in southern Québec and moved to London to study filmmaking at the Met Film School in Ealing Studios. She now lives and works in Paris, France. As a director, she believes in exploring and widening her understanding of the world by seeking and telling exceptional stories outside of the mainstream. She’s worked on documentaries about remote and/or isolated communities, including cloistered nuns in London and a clinic for children with intellectual deficiencies.
Geela Kumarluk - Co-director d
Geela works as a social worker in Inukjuak, and has been caring for and helping others her whole life - from her younger siblings when she was a child, her brother and sister's children now, and anyone who needs it. She's a mother of two, and raises her children with
care and love. Elements that were lacking in her upbringing due to the traumatic past her family shares with all Inuit, who experienced the horror of the residential school system.
Betsy Epoo - Local Producer
Betsy is a young elder who works at Inukjuak's Elders House. She has an immense impact on the film, as she leads the filmmakers to community members with a desire to share their stories. Her own point of view on the Inuit community, its struggles and hopes, nourished an accurate portrait of the village that struggles to reconcile north and south while fighting for its independence.
Mauro Fernandez - Director of Photography
Mauro was born in Uruguay. He got his bachelor's at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay, studied cinematography at Maine Media Workshops and got his Master of Fine Arts in Film Production at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. His passion for travel and different cultures led him to live in various corners of the world, manifesting a unique vision and perspective in each one of his projects. He was awarded with the Theatrical Teamster's Scholarship, NYU Grad Film Scholarship, and a Willard T. C. Johnson Fellowship. Mauro gravitates between New York and his home country.
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