Long-lost Inuit animation films restored and released after 50 years

This is a still from an animated short by Salomonie Joanasie Pootoogook, created during the 1972–75 Cape Dorset Film Animation Workshop in Kinngait. (Image courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada)

Dozens of animated films made by Inuit artists in the 1970s and shelved for more than 50 years are being made available to the public after a major restoration effort by the National Film Board of Canada.

The film board recently digitized and released 41 short films created between 1972 and 1975 during a six-week animation workshop in Kinngait.

Fifty-eight films were produced at that workshop by 13 Inuit filmmakers, but only a handful were ever seen by wider audiences.

“It’s amazing we have that documentation showing that it all happened,” said Camilo Martín-Flórez, the film board’s collection curator who led the rediscovery project.

“These were highly talented artists, and just seeing them behind the scenes, working on their films, editing the reels, and reviewing footage was really special.”

The films were created at the Sikusilarmiut Animation Studio, a short-lived program that trained local artists, carvers, photographers and musicians in filmmaking. 

In 1973, the NFB compiled a selection of 17 of the workshop films into a short program titled Animation from Cape Dorset.

That film gained international attention, screening at the Cannes Film Festival in France and earning an award at Animafest Zagreb in what’s now Croatia in 1974.

But the remaining works remained unreleased and forgotten in storage.

That changed when Martín-Flórez stumbled on references to the workshop while researching a film by Mosha Michael, who is considered one of the first Inuk filmmakers, in the national film board’s archives. He eventually located seven reels labelled only as Arctic Workshop Reel 1 through Reel 7.

The digitization process took eight months. The films were scanned frame-by-frame at the film board’s preservation facility outside Montreal.

Martín-Flórez said the decision was made to preserve the original colour and texture of the films. 

“There’s a visible veil of dust in some parts, but that’s part of their authenticity,” he said.

The artists involved included respected Nunavut cultural figures, such as photographer Peter Pitseolak and his wife Aggeok, who contributed original music. Other names include Salomonie J. Pootoogook, Timmun Alariaq, Mathew Joanasie, and Pitaloosie Saila.

Many of the films are untitled and in Inuktitut, which Martín-Flórez says highlights the need for subtitling to ensure accessibility for both Inuit and non-Inuit viewers. 

Though the studio officially shut down in 1975 due to logistical and funding challenges, Martín-Flórez said its impact is still felt today.

“These individuals should be credited as the founders of independent Inuit media, by Inuit, for Inuit,” he said.

“This archive is a call to action, not just for Inuit or Canadians, but globally for Indigenous filmmakers.”

Several films, including The Birth of Kayak, Magic Man and Good Day for Hunting, are now available to stream on NFB.ca. 

A 1975 documentary about the animation workshop, Sikusilarmiut is also available to watch. 

While some of the filmmakers have died, Martín-Flórez believes a few may still be alive and is hoping to connect with them or their families.

“I hope this provides a sense of identity and continuity. When you’re an artist, it’s powerful to see that others before you struggled with the same creative challenges, and still made work that reflected their lives, language and world,” he said.