NFB Collection
Silent Messengers
20051 h 33 min 35 secFilm: Documentary
Direction: William D. MacGillivray
Production: Terry GreenlawAnnette ClarkeKent Martin (National Film Board of Canada)
Produced by Picture Plant in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, Telefilm Canada - Equity Investment Program and CTF: Licence Fee Program, in association with CTV and IFC: The Independent Film Channel, with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and with the assistance of the Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit.
This extraordinary documentary explores the mysteries of the Inuksuit, those powerful objects that mark the pristine landscape of the North. As enigmatic as the stone slabs of Stonehenge, the Inuksuit are sacred signs of the Inuit and their ancestors--the first people to inhabit the Arctic.
With acclaimed ethnogeographer and photographer Norman Hallendy and well-known sculptor-actor Natar Ungalaq (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) as their guides, the filmmakers traverse the open and sometimes forbidding terrain around Kinngait (formerly known as Cape Dorset) and Igloolik, in search of these stone symbols and their meanings.
This journey offers up staggeringly beautiful images of the Arctic. Remote and haunting, the Inuksuit stand as the signposts of a rich way of life, one sadly in danger of disappearing.
Silent Messengers allows us a privileged and intimate encounter with the land. Enhanced by a brilliant musical score, this stunning work is at once respectful and personal, inspiring and human.
Availability
Subject categories
- Tourism > Arctic Region
- Indigenous Peoples in Canada (Inuit) > CultureTraditional way of life
- Canada - Images of a Country > Landscapes
- Crafts > Sculpture and Woodcarving
Credits
- participant
- Norman Hallendy
- Natar Ungalaq
- Jimmy Manning
- Serge Lampron
- George Pitseolak
- Pitseolala Manning
- George Manning
- Kananginak Pootoogook
- Pitseolak Niviaqsi
- Nowdlaq Osuweetok
- Kavavau Manumee
- Annie Petaulassie
- Kenojuak Ashevak
- Pauta Saila
- Pitaloosie Saila
- Melia Jaw
- Osuitok Ipeelie
- Zacharias Kunuk
- Annie Pitseolak
- Jamesie Alariaq
- director
- William D. MacGillivray
- producer
- Terry Greenlaw
- Annette Clarke
- cinematographer
- Kent Nason
- editor
- Christopher Cooper
- sound design
- Alex Salter
- location recording
- Alex Salter
- music score
- Paul Cram
- vocals score
- Lucie Idlout
- production manager
- Jan Nathanson
- camera assistant
- Kevin MacNeil
- grip
- Kevin MacNeil
- gaffer
- Kevin MacNeil
- DV camera
- Natar Ungalaq
- production crew
- Jimmy Manning
- Serge Lampron
- Kelly Namonai
- George Pitseolak
- Kristiina Alariak
- Timmun Alariak
- Jamesie Alariaq
- Mike Constantineau
- Silaqqi Alariaq
- Peter Toonoo
- Ikayukta Saggiatu
- Jamasie Pitseolak
- interpreter
- Letia Itidlooie
- Aksatungua Ashoona
- sound editor
- Alex Salter
- re-recording mixer
- Serge Boivin
- online editor
- Doug Woods
- colourist
- Doug Woods
- assistant on-line editor
- Luckas Cardona
- assistant picture editor
- Dennis Bradley
- production accountant
- Jan Anthony
- music recording
- The Sonic Temple
- narration recording
- The Sonic Temple
- recording engineer
- Lil Thomas
- Darren Van Niekerk
- score
- Paul Cram
- Lil Thomas
- Lucas Pearse
- David Burton
- Lucie Idlout
- June Shappa
- executive producer
- Kent Martin
- centre administrator
- John William Lutz
- production supervisor
- Patricia Coughran
- marketing manager
- Philip Moscovitch