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 Angutautuq), the videos that we produced celebrate the specificity of the culture of women in Igloolik.
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. Between 2017 and 2019 Arnait Video produced a feature film for children, Tia and Piujuq, directed by Lucy Tulugarjuk and co-produced Restless River, a feature co-directed by Madeline Ivalu and Marie-Hélène Cousineau, and filmed in Kuujjuaq.
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 Angutautuq), the videos that we produced celebrate the specificity of the culture of women in Igloolik.
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. Between 2017 and 2019 Arnait Video produced a feature film for children, Tia and Piujuq, directed by Lucy Tulugarjuk and co-produced Restless River, a feature co-directed by Madeline Ivalu and Marie-Hélène Cousineau, and filmed in Kuujjuaq.