Amarok's Song - The Journey to Nunavut

19981 h 15 min 10 secFilm: Documentary

Direction: Martin KreelakOle Gjerstad

Production: Lucie PageauMalcolm GuyJanice EppOle GjerstadJoe MacDonaldGraydon McCrea

Script: Ole GjerstadMartin Kreelak

Co-produced by Words & Pictures Video and the NFB in association with the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, Vision TV, CFCF-TV and Knowledge Network.

This is the story of the Caribou Inuit family who were Canada's last nomads. With the voices of three generations, they tell of their journey from an independent life hunting on the Keewatin tundra to the present, when they take the reins of the new territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999. Amarok's Song: Journey to Nunavut is the result of close collaboration between Ole Gjerstad, a southern Canadian, and Martin Kreelak, an Inuk. Martin is a member of the family in the film and one of its principal characters. Amarok's Song speaks through three distinct voices. Elders, led by 80-year-old Amarok and his wife, Elizabeth, take us back to a time marked by incredible hardship, pride and a startling spiritual universe. Martin's generation has a foot in each world: they have borne the brunt of cultural clashes between southern and Inuit societies--and they are the ones who will set the course for their new homeland. Teens and young adults who were born in the settlements and grew up with satellite TV speak through their own short videos stories, shot by students at Baker Lake High School. A shorter video, Journey to Nunavut: The Kreelak Story (48 min), is also available. It focuses on Martin Kreelak's generation and that of the elders, represented by Amarok and his wife, Elizabeth.

Subject categories


  • Indigenous Peoples in Canada (Inuit) > CultureHistoryNorthwest Territories, Nunavut and YukonSocial ChangeTraditional way of life
  • Nature & Ecological Knowledge > Animals, Traditional Use & Relationships with Animals
  • Indigenous Peoples: Canada > Inuit & Arctic Peoples (in Canada)
  • Indigenous Economies > Traditional/Historic Economies

Credits


director
Martin Kreelak
Ole Gjerstad
producer
Lucie Pageau
Malcolm Guy
Janice Epp
Ole Gjerstad
Joe MacDonald
executive producer
Graydon McCrea
script
Ole Gjerstad
Martin Kreelak
camera
Andrei Khabad
Michael Parsons
sound
Samuel Iqtiliq
Nick Huard
editing
Howard Goldberg
sound editing
Paul Herspiegel
mix
Paul Herspiegel
music
Janet Lumb
Dino Giancola