Pirruvik: Circumpolar Short Films

Monday, June 27 at 12 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Tuesday, June 28 at 12 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Wednesday, June 29 at 12 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Yukon Cinema
304 Wood St.
Whitehorse, YK

Curated by Jeremy Emerson and organized by Western Arctic Moving Pictures and the Inuit Art Foundation with support from Telefilm Canada, this dynamic short film program includes work from all eight Arctic nations and northern regions of Canada. The title, Pirruvik, refers to the circle of stones that anchor a tent to the ground. Over 50 shorts ranging from one to 12 minutes in length will be playing throughout the Summit on a continuous loop.

Stop by the Yukon Theater any afternoon of the Summit to take in one of the many experimental videos, animations, documentary and other fantastic films programmed for the Summit.

Scroll Down for the FULL PROGRAM

Program 1

10 Short Films , Length: 70 mins

Yukon, Canada | 8 minutes | Siku Allooloo (Inuk/Haitian/Taíno).

A woman’s connection to her mother in the spirit world reactivates Taíno culture and presence, revealing a realm unseen. Filmed on Super 8 and developed by hand with plant medicines and botanicals, Spirit Emulsion develops a language for Taíno filmmaking based in the earth and cosmos, and in so doing, breathes an ancestral connection into new form.

Inuvialuit Region, Canada | 13 minutes | Alan Code

The Covid pandemic strikes a tragically familiar chord for the Inuvialuit of the Mackenzie River Delta. In the early 19th century John Franklin and his crew infected their ancestors with deadly smallpox. Other devastating epidemics would follow. Historian Randal Pokiak returns to the ancient site of Kitigaaruk, a community abandoned after the great flu epidemic of 1918, to deliver a vivid cautionary tale.

Nunavut Region, Canada | 4 minutes |  Nyla Innuksuk

In this evocative short documentary, Inuk singer-songwriter and humanitarian Susan Aglukark weaves together stories of artistry, family, and belonging as she explores the complex cultural shifts of the last 50 years of Inuit life. Turning her lens on the turbulence of colonial transition, director Nyla Innuksuk examines the forces that shaped Aglukark’s voice and how that voice is now being translated for a new generation of Inuit artists.

Nunavik, Canada | 2 minutes | Jobie Weetaluktuk

In this short film, filmmaker Jobie Weetaluktuk mixes archival and new footage to make a statement about the appropriation of Inuit culture throughout history.

Nunatsialuit, Canada | 13 minutes | Jennie Williams

Nalujuk Night is an up close look at an exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, Labrador Inuit tradition. Every January 6th from the dark of the Nunatsiavut night, the Nalujuit appear on the sea ice. They walk on two legs, yet their faces are animalistic, skeletal, and otherworldly. Snow crunches underfoot as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain.

Despite the frights, Nalujuk Night is a beloved annual event, showing that sometimes it can be fun to be scared. Rarely witnessed outside of Nunatsiavut, this annual event is an exciting chance for Inuit, young and old, to prove their courage and come together as a community to celebrate culture and tradition.

Northwest Territories, Canada | 12 minutes | Jonathan Antoine

A short documentary on the Dene Drum in Gahnıhthah (Rabbitkettle).

Finland | 5 minutes | Marja Helander

North Sámi with English subtitles

Shelter (Suodji) is a short film adaptation of an old story from Utsjoki, Sápmi, to the present. It is a legend of what the director’s relative, Ovllá-Ivvár Helander, did during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918 in Utsjoki. Ovllá decided to fool Death and take his fate into his own hands.

Presented in partnership with the International Sami Film Institute.

Russia/ Norway | 5 minutes | Ánne Márjá Guttorm Graven & Sergey Gavrilov

North Sámi, subtitles in English.

During corona times two friends meet at Zoom to catch up, Sergey in Lovozero (on the Russian side of the border) and Ánne Márjá in Lødingen (on the Norwegian side of the border). They haven’t met in a long time, and it seems like it will be long before they meet again. They have a lot to talk about.

Presented in partnership with the International Sami Film Institute.

Sweden | 5 minutes | Maria Fredriksson (Sámi/Swedish)

Sámi/Swedish w English subtitles | Documentary Short

Svonni vs Skatteverket is a feisty and charming portrait of a Sámi woman who tries to convince the Swedish Tax Agency that she has the right to make a tax deduction for the purchase of a dog. A humorous look at cultural clashes and the struggle to practice Sámi culture in today’s Sweden.

Greenland | 4:18 min | Ulannaq Ingemann & Berda Larsen

Music Video

Program 2

10 Short Films , Length: 73 mins

Yukon, Canada | 6 minutes | Lance Burton

As we step onto a small boat parked at a dock in Carcross, Elder Stanley James takes us on a journey back to the old times when harvesting seagull eggs was an important and necessary activity providing food diversity and survival.

Inuvialuit  Region, Canada | 8 minutes | Reneltta Arluk 

Restless and in search of peace, a man builds a fire in the forest and is visited by unknown traveler.

Innu, Canada | 5 minutes | Mary Menie Mark

A heartfelt and intimate familial portrait of a conversation between a mother and her daughter. A beautiful, experimental testament to moving from hut to house. 

Nunavik, Canada| 3 minutes | Eva Kaukai & Manon Chamberland

Eva Kaukai and Manon Chamberland practice the Inuk art of throat singing in their small village of Kangirsuk. Their mesmerizing voices carry through the four seasons of their Arctic land.

Nunatsialuit, Canada | 14 minutes | Ossie Michelin

An adventurous young boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Evan’s Drum is a joyful visit to a family’s loving home, and an uplifting story of cultural pride. After generations of silence, the rhythm of the traditional Inuit drum has returned to Labrador, and seven-year-old Evan is part of the new generation that will keep its heartbeat strong.

Northwest Territories, Canada | 11 minutes | Miranda Currie

Join Canadian Inuit sled dog Ellesmere on her first rite-of-passage expedition with the pack.

Inuu, Canada | 6 minutes | Laura Fontaine & Yasmine Fontaine

Two young Innu women take up the old roads of the past to revive the identity of their Nation; a tribute to the Elders, the territory and the Innu people.

Finland | 4 minutes | Aslak Paltto

Reindeer herder is living the hardest and longest winter ever and is forced to feed the reindeer to keep them alive. All the days are the same while feeding, herding and refueling. Herder can not have a break until snow melts. All the time there is something that drives him ahead.

Presented in partnership with the International Sami Film Institute.

Norway | 5 minutes | Sara Margrethe Oskal

North Sámi with english subtitles

This hilarious short film Covid Side Effects(2020) shows how pandemic and physical distancing times can be helpful when trying to break up with a partner with whom one hasn’t had strong passionate feelings in a long time.

Presented in partnership with the International Sami Film Institute.

Alaska, USA | 17 minutes | Joshua Branstetter

Thirteen talented artists, a 148-year-old beaded headdress, and tons of cultural pride. Those are the ingredients of Pinguat—a short documentary film by Josh Branstetter and the Alutiiq Museum. Follow Alutiiq women as they recreate a headdress from 1872 and explore their culture.

Pinguat is a documentary film directed by Joshua Albeza Branstetter in collaboration with the Alutiiq Museum, and with support from the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak, US Bureau of Indian Affairs, Musée Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, and Koniag, Inc.

Program 3

11 Short Films , Length: 76 mins

Yukon, Canada| 3 minutes | Jakub Wiatrak

A lone man takes the great, mysterious migration into his own hands. This short captured on celluloid in Dawson City was produced and written by Yasmine Renaud.

Inuvialuit, Canada | 5 minutes | Tom Mcleod

An old Inuvialuit story about a man who, in his avarice, corrupts his own soul to the point where he is driven to cannibalism. As all traditional harvesters know: if you are not responsible, you can destroy your own ecosystem and be left with nothing.

Nunavut, Canada | 6 minutes | Germaine Arnattaujuq, Neil Christopher & Louise Flaherty

In this six-minute short, Inuit artist, storyteller and co-director Germaine Arnattaujuq. 

(Arnaktauyok) depicts Inuit creation stories in all their glory. Arctic Song tells stories of how the land, sea and sky came to be in beautifully rendered animation. Telling traditional Inuit tales from the Iglulik region of Nunavut through song, the film revitalizes ancient knowledge and shares it with future generations.

Nunavik, Canada | 9 minutes | Ulivia Uviluk

Inuit Languages in the 21st Century is a sweet and insightful exploration of Inuit language concerns by Inuit youth from different regions and dialects. They harness available resources and technology as friendly tools for preservation and continuation.

Nunatsialuit, Canada | 5 minutes | Echo Henoche

This animated short tells the story of a ferocious polar bear turned to stone by an Inuk shaman. The tale is based on emerging filmmaker Echo Henoche’s favourite legend, as told to her by her grandfather in her home community of Nain, Nunatsiavut, on Labrador’s North Coast. Hand-drawn and painted by Henoche in a style all her own, Shaman is the first collaboration between the Labrador artist and the NFB.

Nunatsialuit, Canada | 2 minutes | Glenn Gear

Set against a kaleidoscopic background of bead work in gleaming colours and featuring a small cast of animal characters from Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), this animated short film is a celebration of traditional Inuit throat singing.

Sweden |  5 minutes | Liv Aira, Isak Anshelm & Peo Rask

Music Video

Finland | 4 minutes | Katja Gauriloff

Music Video

With English subtitles.

Iceland | 13 minutes | Runar Thor Sigurbjornsson

Andri, an anxious teenage boy, hides and represses his sexuality in fear of his masculine father’s reaction but, on the eve of Andri’s first date, he finds a clever way to reveal his secret.

Greenland | 12 minutes | Aka Hansen

Greenlandic with English subtitles

A mother who has dedicated her life to her child and working hard for her family goes out for a night of fun and meets someone special.

Norway | 12 minutes | Egil Pedersen

Three Sámi men travel to the capital of Norway. One of them is wearing a gákti, the Sami traditional costume, to attract Norwegian women. Koftepolitiet is a Sámi short film told with humour and political sting.

Program 4

9 Short Films , Length: 78 mins

Yukon, Canada | 5 minutes | David Curtis

A beautifully shot portrait of an empty hotel with a mysterious soundtrack.

Nunavut , Canada | 10 minutes | Carol Kunuk

Inuktitut & English

As the global pandemic reaches into the Arctic Archipelago, Inuk filmmaker Carol Kunnuk documents how unfamiliar new protocols affect her family and community. Her vividly specific soundtrack juxtaposes snippets from local radio broadcasts, issuing health advisories in both Inuktitut and English, with the sweet sounds of children at play. A richly detailed and tender account of disruption and adjustment.

Nunavik, Canada | 6 minutes | Charlie Ekomiak

Shot on his birthday, this documentary pays tribute to Charlie’s uniqueness and challenges and stresses the power of friendship. Un film de Charlie Ekomiak.

Nunavik, Canada | 3 minutes | Sammy Gadbois

Sammy Gadbois uses snippets of life in Kuujjuaq to reflect about his own purpose on earth and muses that it could be creating memories. A film by Sammy Gadbois.

Nunatsialuit, Canada | 5 minutes | Nicolas Renaud

The soul of the Innu language is the land, water and forests of the fast-disappearing caribou.

Through his music, Florent Vollant continues to make this language heard around the world.

Greenland | 12 minutes | Berda Larson

Greenlandic with English subtitles Short Drama

Tukummeq and Luna are facing a turning point in their relationship. An opportunity arises for them to finally present themselves as a couple to Luna’s mother, but Luna hesitates. In search of a decision, Tukummeq tells Luna the myth of the loon and the raven; how the loon was gifted its beautiful patterns, and how she, in an act of love, accidentally ruined the ravens. Which path will Luna decide for herself and Tukummeq?

Finland | 2 minutes | Lada Suomenrinne

Music video

Sweden | 5 minutes | Jonah Senften &  Jimmy Sundin

Saami with English subtitles

The seasons shift; winters are getting warmer and summers longer, the media reports on climate change almost every day. A poetic story about the land and about the value of nature through the thoughts of those who use the land daily. The film is part of the Swedish Film Institute’s project Glöd, where Sweden’s indigenous peoples and national minorities tell their stories.

Norway | 32 minutes | Elle Marja Eira

Saami with English subtitles

“As long as the reindeer exist here, so do we”. Through filmmaker Elle Márjá Eira’s eyes we follow her family in different seasons with their reindeer herd. Ealát is a story about living and surviving in Sámi reindeer husbandry in strange times.

Additional Films at the Yukon Theater during the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit

Slash/Back (2022)

1h26mins | Adventure/Sci-fi
Directed by: Nyla Innukshuk 

When Maika and her ragtag friends discover an alien invasion in their tiny arctic hamlet, it’s up to them to save the day. Utilizing their makeshift weapons and horror movie knowledge, the aliens realize you don’t mess with girls from Pang.

Showtimes:
Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 6 p.m. | Tuesday, June 28 at 6 p.m. | Wednesday, June 29 at 8 p.m.


Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (20th Anniversary) (2001)

2h52mins| rated R | Drama
Directed by: Zacharias Kunuk
Centuries ago, in what would become the Canadian Arctic, Atuat is promised to the malevolent Oki, son of the leader of their tribe. But Atuat loves the good-natured Atanarjuat, who ultimately finds a way to marry her. Oki’s sister, Puja also fancies Atanarjuat, and when she causes strife between him and his brother Amaqjuaq, Oki seizes the opportunity to wreak a terrible revenge on Atanarjuat.

Showtime:
Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.