Writing Inuit Cinema - Stephen Agluvak Puskas

Today, there is little doubt about the status of Inuit Cinema as a cultural force in Canada’s media landscape. If the 2001 release of Anatarjuat represented the advent of this art form, today, we are witnessing its blossoming. There has been a proliferation of filmmakers across Inuit nunangat, of film-funding opportunities, and a network of southern distribution. However, for all that Inuit Cinema has become in recent years, writing about that Cinema has had a difficult time keeping apace. In the academy, writing about Inuit Cinema is often the domain of ethnographically minded researchers. In the popular press, writing is the domain of critics removed from Inuit culture and communities, and through the lens of southern models of reception. And while both groups help to promote what has become a widely celebrated form of cultural expression, neither has successfully found a place for Inuit to express our own judgments on our Cinema. This discussion will highlight Inuit perspectives on Inuit Cinema, for Inuit filmmakers and Inuit film funders to consider ways in which we can create more and stronger writing about this art form together.

• What role does history serve in writing on Inuit Cinema?

• What must southern critics be aware of when writing about Inuit Cinema?

• What is the role of ethnographic writing about Inuit Cinema today?

• What do Inuit filmmakers feel is missing from writing about their film?

• How do we provide more opportunities for Inuit to write about their cinema?