Martha of the North

20081 h 23 minFilm: Documentary

G

Direction: Marquise Lepage

Production: Marcel Simard (Les productions Virage inc.)Johanne Bergeron (National Film Board of Canada)Yves BisaillonMonique Simard

Script: Marquise LepageMartha Flaherty

Produced by Virage in association with the National Film Board of Canada, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada, the Film and Television Tax Credit - Gestion SODEC, the SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles - Québec), the Government of Canada (Tax Credit Program) and Rogers Documentary Fund.

Martha was only 5 when she and her parents were lured away from their Inuit village. Along with a handful of other families, they were moved to Canada’s most northerly island, Ellesmere, to ensure Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

They were told that game would be plentiful and life would be easy. Instead, they discovered that the islands of the Arctic are among the least hospitable to human life in the world. For years, they endured hunger and extreme cold.

Deprived of the right to an education and a childhood, Martha had to help her family survive. Yet she proved as resilient as the other people from her community who appear in the film.

Martha of the North is the story of a journey and a childhood spent in a new and unwelcoming land.



Subject categories


  • History - Canada - 1946-Present > Arctic Region
  • Indigenous Peoples in Canada (Inuit) > HistoryPortraitsRights and Land ClaimsWomen
  • Women - Portraits > Indigenous WomenWomen in Crisis
  • Ethics and Religious Culture > Ethical Values
  • Family Studies/Home Economics > Family Diversity and Challenges
  • Geography > Human GeographyThe Arctic
  • Civics/Citizenship > Human Rights

Credits


writer
Marquise Lepage
Martha Flaherty
voice over writing
Marquise Lepage
director of photography
René Sioui Labelle
sound recordist
Poasie Joamie
Chantal Rhéaume
image editor
Dominique Champagne
Nancy Gendron
assistant director
Évangéline De Pas
still photographer
Évangéline De Pas
participant
Martha Flaherty
Rynee Flaherty
Mary Flaherty
Peter Flaherty
Larry Audlaluk
John Amagoalik
Dora Padluk
Minnie Killiktee
Myna Kiguktak
Camille Lachance
Pauline Akeeagok
Rose Christensen
Emily Kakkee
Ashley Kalluk
Rita Killiktee
Samantha Killiktee
Annie Mary
Laurrie Noah
Lydia Noah
Jennifer Qaapik
guide
Jimmie Qaapik
Looty Pijamini
sculptor
Looty Pijamini
researcher
Marquise Lepage
Évangéline De Pas
Martha Flaherty
Julia Bennett
archives research
Évangéline De Pas
translation
Martha Flaherty
Poasie Joamie
Annie Ningeok
Erica Pomerance
Lucie Tapardjuk
additional image editor
Nancy Gendron
Mirenda Ouellet
voice-over
Elisapie Isaac
Kathleen Fee
Brett Waxon
original music
Elisapie Isaac
musician
Roger Miron
throat chant
Pauline Akeeagok
Martha Flaherty
online editor
Claude Collins
computer graphics designer
Dominic Audy
Philippe Raymond
sound post-production coordinator
Claude Beaugrand
sound engineer
Claude Beaugrand
dialogue editor
Francine Poirier
foley artist
Lise Wedlock
mixer
Luc Boudrias
Hans Laitres
development director
Stéphanie Verrier
administrator
Sylvie Desrosiers
Johanne Dubuc
technical coordinator
Richard Cliche
production coordinator
Christine Dugas
Noreen Bélanger
Catherine Lachance
line production
Isabelle Fortier
producer
Marcel Simard
associate producer
Johanne Bergeron
Yves Bisaillon
executive producer
Monique Simard
director
Marquise Lepage