Saqpinaq Carol Kunnuk is an Inuk actress and filmmaker from Canada,[1] noted for her work with both Arnait Video Productions and Isuma Studios.[2]

Career

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She had acting roles in the films The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, Waterproof (Issaittuq), and Uvanga,[1] and was interviewed in the 2015 documentary film Igloolik, a Real Tale.

As a filmmaker, she was an assistant director on Knud Rasmussen and Before Tomorrow[3] before releasing her debut documentary film, Queen of the Quest, in 2010.

In 2017, she and Zacharias Kunuk co-directed the mid-length documentary film Bowhead Whale Hunting with My Ancestors,[4] which won the award for Best Indigenous Language Production at the 2017 ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.[5] In 2019, she directed the short documentary film Ataguttaaluk: A Life to Live For.[6]

In November 2021, her short documentary film Being Prepared, which centred on how her home community of Igloolik coped with the COVID-19 pandemic, was broadcast by Uvagut TV.[7]

Tautuktavuk (What We See), a film co-directed by and co-starring Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk, premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,[8] and won the Amplify Voices Award for Best First Film.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sarah Rogers, "Igloolik’s Arnait video group to premiere its next feature film in Iqaluit". Nunatsiaq News, April 15, 2014.
  2. ^ Sonia Gunderson, "Arnait Video Productions: Women Telling Their Own Stories". Inuit Art Quarterly, June 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Chris Knight, "Think back -waaay back; Movie preparation involved recreating long-ago customs". National Post, March 27, 2009.
  4. ^ Pat Mullen, "Review: ‘Bowhead Whale Hunting with My Ancestors’". Point of View, October 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Regan Reid, "Belcourt, Jackson’s Indictment wins at imagineNATIVE". Playback, October 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Gary Pearson, "A Story in Three Parts". Border Crossings, May 2022.
  7. ^ "Nunavut filmmaker documents life in lockdown in her Igloolik home". CBC North, November 15, 2021.
  8. ^ John Hazelton, "TIFF Discovery and Midnight Madness line-ups revealed". Screen Daily, August 3, 2022.
  9. ^ Christian Zilko, "American Fiction’ Wins People’s Choice Award at 2023 TIFF (Complete Winners List)". IndieWire, September 17, 2023.
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