Arnait Video Productions: Voicing a Unique Canadian View
The goal of Arnait Video Productions (originally the Women’s Video Workshop of Igloolik) is to value the unique culture and voices of Inuit women and to open discussions with Canadians of all origins.
Since its beginnings in 1991, Arnait Video Productions has traced a trajectory revealing the originality of its producers, the context of their work and lives, as well as their strong desire to express cultural values unique in Canada.
Often working in precarious social conditions, the sheer endurance required on the part of the women in Arnait to produce these video documents, testifies to the importance of the project in their lives.
The first works of our group revealed the importance for the women of Igloolik to share oral traditions. Whether in the form of a series of interviews (Women/Health/Body and Itivimiut) or as short works linking songs to reenactment of traditional activities (Qulliq, Attagutaaluk Starvation, Piujuq and Angutautaq), the videos that we produced celebrate the specificity of the culture of women in Igloolik.
While the video works situate themselves in the specificity of their production, they are universal in their motivation for expression. It is this combination that has secured a large public located across the Arctic, in South America, Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Arnait Video Productions has produced documentaries and fictions. Our first feature film, Before Tomorrow, won Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008 and was selected for the International Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. SOL, our latest feature documentary, won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary in 2016.
Since its beginnings in 1991, Arnait Video Productions has traced a trajectory revealing the originality of its producers, the context of their work and lives, as well as their strong desire to express cultural values unique in Canada.
Often working in precarious social conditions, the sheer endurance required on the part of the women in Arnait to produce these video documents, testifies to the importance of the project in their lives.
The first works of our group revealed the importance for the women of Igloolik to share oral traditions. Whether in the form of a series of interviews (Women/Health/Body and Itivimiut) or as short works linking songs to reenactment of traditional activities (Qulliq, Attagutaaluk Starvation, Piujuq and Angutautaq), the videos that we produced celebrate the specificity of the culture of women in Igloolik.
While the video works situate themselves in the specificity of their production, they are universal in their motivation for expression. It is this combination that has secured a large public located across the Arctic, in South America, Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Arnait Video Productions has produced documentaries and fictions. Our first feature film, Before Tomorrow, won Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008 and was selected for the International Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. SOL, our latest feature documentary, won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary in 2016.