Arctic Song

Las raíces de Efraín

2024

Inspired by a true discovery that occurred in 1991 (Alboyanco, Angol), the short film tells the story of a boy who, while playing hide-and-seek with his cousins, accidentally discovers a large ceramic vessel. This encounter will reveal important knowledge about his culture and, in particular, about the unique death rite at the El Vergel cultural complex.

Le grand solstice

2021

No synopsis available.

Kindred Spirits

An Irish refugee child alone in New York of 1847. A Choctaw son far from the warmth of his family. When their paths align, Mara and Tushka will journey through epic adventures and magical encounters, watched over by Mara’s brother Dan, who cannot accept his own passing into the spirit realm. Together, they are searching for a people to call family and a place to call home.

The Shaman's Apprentice

2021 · ★ 7

A young shaman must face her first test: a trip underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill.

Vistas: Dancers of the Grass

2009

A stunning display of a stop-motion animation, Dancers of the Grass vividly depicts the majesty of the hoop dance, a tradition symbolizing the unity of all nations.

The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend

1974 · ★ 6.5

In this short animation based on an Inuit legend, a goose captures the fancy of an owl, a weakness for which he will pay dearly. The sound effects and voices are Inuktitut, but the animation leaves no doubt as to the unfolding action. A story with the wry humor characteristic of many Inuit tales.

Mother's Land

2021

Waking up in a nightmare before the sunrise of December 30, 2020, the indigenous community of the Tumandok was suddenly surrounded by fear. Panambi features the stories of bright memories of the past and the despair of having now as a mere memory of the future without a trace of justice; how they lived and what they lived for. A decades-long struggle is shot, one in the lens of a mother paralyzed by fear; another from a mother raged and moved by fear—both looking forward to a better tomorrow.

Neige

2015 · ★ 6.5

On the eve of summer vacation, Prune leaves her parents for the traditional "end-of-year school trip." But once she's gone, an incredible snowstorm hits the small town where her family lives. Philémon, her younger brother, then makes an astonishing discovery: an Inuit family has settled on a roundabout. The meeting of these two worlds sets the stage for a wonderful adventure.

The Mountain of SGaana

2017

As a young fisherman cruises along a rugged shoreline, a tiny mouse in Haida regalia appears and starts to knit a blanket. A story unfolds on the blanket as it grows longer, illustrating the ancient tale of Haida master sea hunter Naa-Naa-Simgat and his beloved, Kuuga Kuns. When a SGaana (the Haida word for “killer whale”) captures the hunter and drags him down into a supernatural world, the courageous Kuuga Kuns sets off to save him. Will the lovers manage to escape the undersea Mountain of SGaana, or will they, too, become part of the Haida spirit world forever?

Despertar de los restos

2012 · ★ 7

A stop-motion documentary that describes the artificial mummification (black and red mummies) of the Chinchorro culture, a pre-hispanic society of fishermen and hunter-gatherers who practiced funeral rites with sophisticated techniques for body preservation 7,000 years ago, originating on the Camarones coast of Chile.

Way of Giants

2016 · ★ 8.7

In a forest of giant trees, six-year-old Oquirá embarks on a quest to understand life.

Cree Hunters of Mistassini

1974 · ★ 7.7

An NFB crew filmed a group of three families, Cree hunters from Mistassini. Since times predating agriculture, this First Nations people have gone to the bush of the James Bay and Ungava Bay area to hunt. We see the building of the winter camp, the hunting and the rhythms of Cree family life.