Zacharias Kunuk
Encyclopedia
Zacharias Kunuk, is a Canadian
Inuk
producer
and director most notable for his film
Atanarjuat
, the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced completely in Inuktitut
. He is the co-founder, with Norman Cohn
, and president of Igloolik Isuma Productions
, Canada's first independent Inuit production company
.
in Canada
. In 1966 he attended school in Igloolik. There he carved and sold soapstone
sculptures to afford movie admissions. As his skill improved, he was able to buy cameras and photographed Inuit hunting scenes. When he heard about video cameras in 1981, he purchased a camera and the basic equipment to be able to teach himself how to create his own movies.
, is a co-production with Denmark
in which he is a co-writer and co-director with Norman Cohn. It premiered on September 7, 2006, as the opening film at the Toronto International Film Festival
.
In 2002, Kunuk was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
.
He is the son of Enoki Kunuk, a hunter who was lost for 27 days during June 2007 in the Arctic
tundra
.
Kunuk is the co-founder of the Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change Project, along with Ian Mauro of the University of Victoria
's School of Environmental Studies. The goal of the project is to collect information from Inuit elders for a film about the Inuit perspective on the impact of climate change on Inuit culture and the environment. The Project submitted a video to the United Nations for the 2009 COP15 Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change which was presented at Denmark's National Gallery.
As of April 2011, Kunuk is developing a project with Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond
about the 18th conflict between Cree and Inuit, which lasted almost a century.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Inuk
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and director most notable for his film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Atanarjuat
Atanarjuat
Atanarjuat is a 2001 Canadian film directed by Zacharias Kunuk. It was the first feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut...
, the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced completely in Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
. He is the co-founder, with Norman Cohn
Norman Cohn (film producer)
Norman Cohn is an American born Canadian film director and producer best known for his work on films Atanarjuat and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen....
, and president of Igloolik Isuma Productions
Isuma
Isuma is Canada's first Inuit production company co-founded by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn in Igloolik, Nunavut in 1990...
, Canada's first independent Inuit production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
.
Background
Zacharias Kununk was born in Kapuivik on Baffin IslandBaffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1966 he attended school in Igloolik. There he carved and sold soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
sculptures to afford movie admissions. As his skill improved, he was able to buy cameras and photographed Inuit hunting scenes. When he heard about video cameras in 1981, he purchased a camera and the basic equipment to be able to teach himself how to create his own movies.
Career
His second film, The Journals of Knud RasmussenThe Journals of Knud Rasmussen
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen is a 2006 Canadian-Danish film about the pressures on the traditional Inuit culture when explorer Knud Rasmussen introduces European cultural influences. Produced by Isuma, the film was directed by Zacharias Kunuk, who also directed the award-winning Inuit film...
, is a co-production with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in which he is a co-writer and co-director with Norman Cohn. It premiered on September 7, 2006, as the opening film at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
.
In 2002, Kunuk was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
He is the son of Enoki Kunuk, a hunter who was lost for 27 days during June 2007 in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
.
Kunuk is the co-founder of the Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change Project, along with Ian Mauro of the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
's School of Environmental Studies. The goal of the project is to collect information from Inuit elders for a film about the Inuit perspective on the impact of climate change on Inuit culture and the environment. The Project submitted a video to the United Nations for the 2009 COP15 Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change which was presented at Denmark's National Gallery.
As of April 2011, Kunuk is developing a project with Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond (filmmaker)
Neil Diamond is a Cree filmmaker based in Montreal, Quebec, born and raised in Waskaganish, Quebec. Working with Rezolution Pictures, Diamond has directed the documentary films Reel Injun, The Last Explorer, One More River, Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec and Cree Spoken Here,...
about the 18th conflict between Cree and Inuit, which lasted almost a century.
External links
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- Canadian Film Encyclopedia
- Nativenetworks
- Zacharias Kunuk profile at ascentmagazine.com.