Artist

Zacharias Kunuk

Zacharias Kunuk was born in 1957 on the land at Kapuivik, in the Igloolik area. In 1982, with proceeds from the sale of some of his soapstone carvings, Kunuk purchased his first video camera ,and in 1985 heproduced his first independent video, a 28-minute tape in Inuktitut called "From Inuk Point of View". From 1984 to 1990 he worked as senior producer for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, where he produced more than thirty Inuktitut-language programs, including "Inuit Way of Dancing" (1985) and "Walrus Hunter" (1986). Since 1990, Kunuk has worked full-time as an independent producer through Igloolik Isuma Productions. Kunuk plans to produce a series of works devoted to Inuit history including, he says, one on the coming of the missionaries. "They came and told us to turn away from our old way of life so that we can be saved. I want to make that into a video so that our children and others can see what really happened, the breaking point when we went under the almighty dollar." Kunuk is also an internationally known sculptor whose carvings are in the permanent collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Short Bio:
Zacharias Kunuk is a renowned filmmaker whose dramatic feature films include Atanarjuat The Fast Runner, which won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes film festival in 2001, and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, codirected with Norman Cohn, which opened the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Kunuk is the winner of a National Arts Award, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005. Earlier this year, Atanarjuat was voted the Best Canadian Film of all times by Toronto International Film Festival survey.

Digital Indigenous Democracy (2012-14), the CMF Experimental Fund $1M project to support multimedia "Inform and Consult" by Inuit in the 2012 Baffinland Iron Mine environmental impact hearings. DID was produced by Isuma Distribution International and was the artistic subject of the 2015 film, Attatama Nunanga: My Father's Land, co-directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn.

DID produced 22 call-in radio shows and about 50 video interviews about mining that were introduced as a Formal Intervention into the 2012 Final Public Hearings and uploaded to the DID website www.isuma.ca/DID/humanrights.

See the newly released Hunting with My Ancestors live stream, behind the scenes conversation,
https://www.facebook.com/isumaTV/videos/vb.434784510374/574465366337031/?type=2&theater&notif_t=page_post_reaction&notif_id=1539811309320841

Artist Code: 219

Videography

Angakusajaujuq - The Shaman's Apprentice

2021, 21:00 minutes, Inuktitut, English (also available with subtitles in English, French, Spanish, or Spanish- Latin America)

One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk

2019, 113:00 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut and English (available with English, French, or Spanish Subtitles)

Hunting With My Ancestors: Walrus Hunting Training Video

2018, 32:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English subtitles

Hunting With My Ancestors , Walrus Hunting Training Video

2018, 32:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English subtitles

Hunting With My Ancestors Episode 6: Seal Pup Hunt

2018, 55:29 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

Hunting With My Ancestors Episode 3: Dog Team Bear Hunt

2018, 29:58 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

Stories of Our Elders SEASON 1

2016, 154:42 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 28: The Man with the Long Hair

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 27: The Owl and the Caribou

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 26: The Fox and The Rabbit

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 25: The Raven and The Owl

2016, 05:32 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 24: The Owls and The Rabbits

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 23: The Lonely Woman and the Polar Bears

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 22: Tungujuluk and Saunikoq, The Walrus and The Bear

2016, 05:34 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 21: Isigaligarssik, The Man Without a Wife

2016, 05:32 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 20: Imarasugssuaq, The Man who Ate his Wives

2016, 05:32 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 19: Sedna, The Ruler of the Sea

2016, 05:32 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 18: Tiggak, The Bear and The Snow Bunting

2016, 05:30 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 17: Qimmikussualuk, The Giant Dog

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 16: Lumaaq, The Woman Who Tricked Her Stepson

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 15: Mahaha, The Tickle Monster

2016, 05:32 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 14: Arnaaluk, The Giant Woman

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 13: Atungakkuuk, The World Traveler

2016, 05:32 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 12: The Woman and The Auvvik

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 11: Anarteq, The Man Who Became a Fish

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 10: The Seagull Who Married the Raven

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 9: Kiviuyk and the Old Woman

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 8: The Little Orphan Girl

2016, 05:31 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 7: Caribou and the Polar Bear

2016, 05:30 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 6: Bow and Arrow

2016, 05:30 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 5: The Child Taken by the Troll

2016, 05:30 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 4: The Man on the Moon

2016, 05:33 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 3: The Troll Story

2016, 05:35 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 2: Kaujakjuk

2016, 05:30 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

Stories of Our Elders Ep. 1: Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting

2016, 05:36 minutes, Colour, Inuktitut, English, French

MALIGLUTIT (SEARCHERS)

2016, 94:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut (with English or French subtitles)

Attatama Nunanga (My Father's Land)

2015, 163:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English subtitles

Angirattut (Coming Home)

2015, 90:00 minutes, color, Inuktitut only /no subtitles

ISUMA INUIT CLASSIC COLLECTION: 1987-2009

2015, colour, Inuktitut, French & English subtitles

Inuit Cree Reconciliation

2013, 46:34 minutes, colour, Inuktitut and Cree with English subtitles

Kobe

2012, 30:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English Subtites

Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change (Le savoir inuit et les changes climatiques)

2010, 54:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut, with English or French subtitles

Tungijuq

2009, 07:23 minutes, colour, No dialogue

Exile

2009, 46:45 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English Subtitles

Issaittuq (Waterproof)

2007, 45:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

407

2006, 08:47 minutes, colour, English and Inuktitut

Inuit Piqutingit (What Belongs to Inuit)

2006, 49:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English subtitles

The Journals of Knud Rasmussen

2006, 112:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut, w English subtitles, w/ French subtitles

Kiviaq Versus Canada

2006, 46:49 minutes, colour, English

Qallunajatut (Urban Inuk)

2005, 48:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English, French subtitles

Kunuk Family Reunion

2004, 48:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English, French s-t

Angakkuiit (Shaman Stories)

2003, 52:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English subtitles

Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner

2001, 161:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut, English subtitles

Artcirq

2001, 52:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English subtitles only

Ajainaa! (Almost!)

2001, 52:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English subtitles

Nanugiurutiga (My First Polar Bear)

2000, 48:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English s-t

NIPI (Voice)

1999, 51:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English subtitles

Arviq! (Bowhead!)

1998, 52:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English subtitles

Episode 13: Quviasukvik (Happy Day)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 12: Unaaq (Harpoon)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 11: Tuktuliaq (Caribou Hunt)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 10: Qaisut (Polar Bear Island)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 9: Aiviaq (Walrus Hunt)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 8: Avamuktulik (Fish Swimming Back and Forth)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 7: Qulangisi (Seal Pups)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut w English or French subtitles

Episode 6: Auriaq (Stalking)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

Episode 5: Angiraq (Home)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

Episode 4: Tugaliaq (Ice Blocks)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

Episode 3: Qarmaq (Stone House)

1995, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut

Episode 2: Avaja (Avaja)

1994, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English or French subtitles

Episode 1: Qimuksik (Dog Team) - Nunavut

1994, 28:50 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English or French subtitles

Saputi (Fish Traps)

1993, 30:30 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English or French subtitles

Nunaqpa (Going Inland) (Marcher dans les terres)

1991, 58:15 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English or French subtitles

Qaggiq (Gathering Place) (Lieu de Rassemblement)

1989, 58:00 minutes, colour, Inuktitut with English or French subtitles

Critical Writing

Isuma Is a Cumulative Effort
by assinnajaq. Canadian Art, april 22, 2019.
Transitions
by James Cullingham. ActiveHistory.ca, Mar 5, 2018. History Department at the University of Saskatchewan and Huron University College, 2018.
Inuit Filmmaking That Sparks a Fire
by Camille Georgeson-Usher. Canadian Art, Jan 23, 2018.
Best Canadian Films of All Time: The Canuck Canon Pulls a Fast One
by John Semley. The Globe and Mail, May 29, 2015.
Isuma: Inuit Art Video
by Bruno Cornellier. Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Spring 2010, v. 19, no. 1.
Isuma: Inuit Video Art
by Bruno Cornellier. Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Spring 2010, v. 19, no. 1.
New Documentary Recounts Bizarre Climate Changes Seen by Inuit Elders
by Guy Dixon. The Globe and Mail, Oct 19, 2010.
Tomorrow hits today: The odds stack up against two unlikely heroes...
by Jason Anderson. EYE WEEKLY, Mar. 26, 2009, v. 18, no. 20.
Isuma: Inuit Video Art by Michael Robert Evans
by Sandra Tober. Arctic, Mar. 2009, v. 62, no. 1.
Triste Artique: Amy Taubin on the Films of Zacharias Kunuk
by Amy Taubin. Artforum, Apr. 1, 2007, v. 38, no. 8.
The Double Entendre of Re-Enactment
by Gerald McMaster. Toronto: Vtape, 2007.
Tragedy at the top of the world: From a traditional Inuit town, a...
by Gayle MacDonald. The Globe and Mail, Mar. 18, 2006.
Kunuk's silent partner: Norman Cohn grew up in New York. Zacharias...
by Sarah Milroy. The Globe and Mail, Sept. 6, 2006.
A Brave Opening Choice as TIFF Kick Off: The Journals Sets the...
by Rick Groen. The Globe and Mail, Sept. 7, 2006.
Video Art, A Guided Tour by Catherine Elwes (Books)
by Tom Sherman. Border Crossings, Aug. 2005, v. 24, no. 3.
Independent Media: The Age of Diversity
by Chris Gehman. Mobile Media: Films and Videos by Artists, 2005.
Natives bring culture to the city: Aboriginal arts from around the...
by Susan Walker. The Toronto Star, Oct. 20 Fall, 2004.
The Root of the Native Voice Film Festival
by Frank J. King III. The Native Voice, Jan. 26, 2004, v. 3, no. 2.
"Atanarjuat" Off-Screen:: From "Media Reservations" to the World Stage
by Faye Ginsburg. American Anthropologist, Dec. 2003, v. 105, no. 4.
Talking Back to Primitivism: Divided Audiences, Collective Desires
by Lucas Bessire. American Anthropologist, Dec. 2003, v. 105, no. 4.
"Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner": Culture, History, and Politics in...
by Shari Huhndorf. American Anthropologist, Dec. 2003, v. 105, no. 4.
The running man: Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk sprints in with...
by Ingrid Randoja. Now, Apr. 11, 2002, v. 21, no. 32.
True North: Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
by Jason Anderson. EYE WEEKLY, Apr. 11, 2002.
Atanarjuat's story no match for its cinema saga: Acclaimed Inuit...
by Sid Adilman. The Toronto Star, Apr. 6, 2002.
A way of life frozen in time: Rhyme & Reason
by Sandra Martin. The Globe and Mail, May 8, 2002.
Against all odds: Film Friday
by Liam Lacey. The Globe and Mail, Apr. 12, 2002.
The sublime north: With its sweeping, intensely human take on...
by Rick Groen. The Globe and Mail, Apr. 12, 2002.
Atanarjuat exorcises the ghost of Nanook: Innovative Inuit movie...
by Peter Howell. The Toronto Star, Apr. 12, 2002.
Reel change: When a culture discovers filmmaking, neither the...
by A.O. Scott. The New York Times Magazine, July 14, 2002.
Northern Light: 2002 Artist of the year
by Sarah Milroy. The Globe and Mail, Dec. 28, 2002.
Hefty program for second aboriginal film festival: 10 screenings...
by Susan Walker. The Toronto Star, Nov. 16, 2001.
ImagineNATIVE: writing back indigenous culture
by Kalli Paakspuu. POV, Winter 2001, no. 45.
From an Inuit point of view
by Blake Gopnik. The Globe and Mail, Sept. 13, 2000.
Canada's first Inuktitut feature-film nears completion
by Valerie G. Connell. Nunatsiaq News, Aug. 18, 2000.
Project/Process: An Introduction to Magnetic North
by Jenny Lion. Program - Video Pool Inc., Winnipeg, Nov. Fall 2000.
Canadian Currents
Toronto: Absolute Choice Curatorial Collective, 1999.
Northern Exposure
by Catherine Elwes. Art Monthly, June 1998, no. 217.
A Rambling Fireside Commentary on the Seven Dukes of Kleinberg
by Andy Fabo. Fuse, June 1997, v. 20, no. 3.
Zacharias Kunuk: Video Artist
by Roger Matuz. Contemporary Canadian Artists, 1997. Toronto: Gale Canada, 1997.
Connecting the North
by Marina Devine. Aboriginal Voices, May 1995, v. 2, no. 2.
Mirror Machine: Video and Identity
by Janine Marchessault. YYZ Books, McGill University, 1995.
Film and Video News
by Karen Tisch. Fuse, May 1994, v. 17, no. 4.
Video award winners make compelling series on Inuit culture
by Nancy Baele. The Ottawa Citizen, May 25, 1994.
Manifest Diversity: Toward A Video Literature of Community Activism
by Barbara Lattanzi. Fuse, Spring 1993, v. 16, no. 2.
Neo-Native Art: New Approaches to Traditional Thinking
by Rick Hill. Revisions, 1992. Banff: Paperworks Press, 1992.
Land Spirit Power: First Nations at The National Gallery
by Mary Anne Barkhouse. Matriart, 1992, v. 3, no. 2.
Zacharias Kunuk
by Diana Nemiroff. Land, Spirit, Power / First Nations at the National Gallery of Canada, Sept. 25, 1992. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1992.
Nunaqpa (Going Inland): Zacharias Kunuk
Northern Lights Exhibition, 1992.
À la découverte des Amériques
by Daniel Carrière. Le Devoir, Aug. 29, 1992.
Local Channels / Zach Kunuk Remodels T.V.: Chaînes locales / Zach...
by Kass Banning. Parallelogramme, 1991, v. 17, no. 1.
Zacharias Kunuk: Video Maker and Inuit Historian
by Steven Hendrick and Kathleen Fleming. Inuit Art Quarterly, Summer 1991.
Qaggiq Video Premiere
by Unknown. Inuit Art Quaterly, Fall 1990.
Canadian Countercurrents: The Images '89 Festival
by Helen Lee. The Independent, Aug. 1989.
Images '89
by Donna Lypchuk. Cinema Canada, Sept. 1989.
Wanna Be: Zach Kunuk at Video In
by Elspeth Sage. Front, Nov. 1989.
Inuit Video Recreates Life in 30's: Far North in New Light
by Elizabeth Godley. Vancouver Sun, Sept. 20, 1989.
Qaggiq
by Pat Thompson. Cinema Canada, Sept. 1989.
Sharp Focus on Zacharias Kunuk
by Jerry White. New Internationalist, Apr., no. 344.