Isuma facts for kids
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| Industry | Production company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn, Paul Apak Angilirq |
| Headquarters | Igloolik,
Igloolik, Nunavut
,
Canada
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Number of locations
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada New York City, New York, US |
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Key people
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Zacharias Kunuk (president), Paul Apak Angilirq (vice-president), Pauloosie Qulitalik (chairman), Norman Cohn (secretary-treasurer) |
| Products | Films |
Isuma (pronounced Ee-soo-ma) is an amazing group of artists and Canada's first film company owned mostly by Inuit people. It was started in 1990 in Igloolik, Nunavut, by Zacharias Kunuk, Paul Apak Angilirq, and Norman Cohn. The word "Isuma" means 'to think' in Inuktitut, the Inuit language.
Isuma is famous around the world for its award-winning movie, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. This was the first feature film ever made entirely in the Inuktitut language, written, directed, and acted by Inuit. In 2019, Isuma was chosen to show their film One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk at the 2019 Venice Biennale, a huge art exhibition. This was the first time Inuit art was featured in the Canada Pavilion there!
Isuma wants to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together. They use TV, the internet, and films to support and share the stories of Canada's Indigenous communities. Their main goal is to create independent media that helps keep Inuit culture and language strong. They also create jobs in Igloolik and Nunavut and share real Inuit stories with everyone, everywhere. Isuma also works closely with Arnait Video Productions.
Contents
Isuma's Journey in Film and Media
Early Success and Recognition
In 1999, Isuma filmed and produced the exciting movie Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. This film was a big hit worldwide. It won the Caméra d'Or for Best First Feature Film at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. It also won six Genie Awards, including Best Picture, and many other international film awards. The film first showed in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2001.
Because Atanarjuat was so successful, Isuma received funding from Telefilm Canada. This allowed them to start working on more film ideas. One of these films was The Journals of Knud Rasmussen. This movie was about the change from traditional spiritual beliefs to Christianity in Igloolik in the early 1920s. It was chosen to open the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006.
In 2011, Isuma faced some financial challenges. However, they continued their important work.
Sharing Indigenous Stories and Culture
Since "Isuma" means "to have a thought," the people at Isuma Productions want to make the world think. They want people to think about the Inuit and other Indigenous peoples. They also want people to think about the future of communities. Many Indigenous people have faced difficulties, even in wealthy countries.
Isuma believes that how a country treats its Indigenous people shows its views on human rights. What happens to Indigenous peoples can show what might happen to everyone else over time. Even today, laws, education, religion, and media can sometimes erase the living memories of Indigenous cultures. As Norman Cohn, one of the founders, said:
Saving animals might seem more appealing than saving people. But unless human rights to live in their homelands are recognized, it's hard to even dream about saving birds and animals.
Isuma wants to increase awareness for Indigenous peoples from all cultures, not just in Northern Canada. They do this by using different types of media. Their goal is to make sure that human rights are seen as connected to culture, spirituality, global issues, and the environment.
How Isuma's Work is Received
In the 1990s, Isuma's films were shown locally. Then, they were broadcast across the Arctic on Television Northern Canada (TVNC). Later, the Aboriginal People's Television Network (APT) started in 1999 and showed Isuma's series across Canada. Eventually, Isuma's films and the Nunavut series became famous worldwide. They won awards in Canada, France, Peru, the United States, Spain, Taiwan, and Japan.
In January 2021, Isuma launched Uvagut TV. This is Canada's first national Inuktut television channel. It is available across Canada today.
Isuma's online platform now has over 6,000 videos in more than 80 different languages. It has over 800 channels controlled by users. These channels represent cultures and media groups from Canada, the U.S.A., Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and all over Latin America. Users can sign up, create their own channels, and upload their own content. Isuma believes this helps people use media to bring back traditional Indigenous strengths and make them strong for today's world.
As Canada's first Inuit-owned film company, Isuma aims to create a special Inuit way of making films. This helps keep Inuit culture strong, creates jobs, and shares a unique Inuit viewpoint with the world.
Isuma's goal is to make other Inuit happy and to connect with a global audience. Their videos, films, and internet projects show how a community can use communication tools for their own cultural, artistic, and language goals. These visual stories also help Canadians connect more directly with Inuit images and their creators. This helps create a clear and real Inuit voice in global media.
The Power of Visual Sovereignty in Isuma Films
Inuit culture often shares stories through visual art and oral traditions. When these stories are written down by people outside Indigenous cultures, they can sometimes be misunderstood or filled with stereotypes.
However, "visual sovereignty" is about Indigenous filmmakers and artists using technology to tell their own stories. They can use editing to show oral stories and Inuit ideas of time and space in ways that printed words cannot. This means they control how their stories are seen.
Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc. was created by Inuit people. Its purpose is to make and share independent films and media art in the Inuit language. These films show Inuit life from an Inuit point of view, using local actors from the Igloolik region.
Indigenous writer Michelle H. Raheja noted that when Inuit performed for the camera, they also reviewed and gave ideas for new scenes. This way of making films is now seen as "innovative." These films have had a lasting positive impact on Inuit communities. This is likely because of how much the Inuit participated in creating them.
Because Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc. has used modern media tools to tell their own stories, they control their images and narratives. They can create their own on-screen versions of their lives, histories, and storytelling traditions. Isuma has also helped share the voices of Arctic Indigenous people about climate change and its future impact on their land through films.
Isuma has allowed many Inuit ideas to be shown through films, short videos, and documentaries. These works share their own unique perspectives and viewpoints.
Isuma on Television and Online
Isuma launched IsumaTV, an online platform, in 2008. This website is a free online place for Inuit and Indigenous culture. It is dedicated to Indigenous filmmakers. The site hosts films that show an Indigenous view and aims to connect Native communities around the world.
In 2021, Isuma launched Uvagut TV. This is a cable television channel available throughout Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Isuma's Productions
IsumaTV reportedly hosts over 7,800 Indigenous community videos in 70 languages. These videos cover many topics from an Inuit perspective. Some topics include Arctic Issues, Indigenous Languages, and Global Community.
- Stories of Our Elders (a 28-episode web series now shown on APTN)
Isuma Films
- Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner - 2000
- The Journals of Knud Rasmussen - 2006
- Before Tomorrow (Le Jour avant le lendemain) - 2008
- Exile (in production)
- Tia and Piujuq - 2018
- One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk - 2019
- Tautuktavuk (What We See) - 2023
Unikaatuatiit (Story Tellers) Series
- Qaggiq (Gathering Place, 1989)
- Nunaqpa (Going Inland, 1991)
- Saputi (Fish Traps, 1993)
Documentaries by Isuma
- Alert Bay (1989)
- Attagutaaluk (Starvation, 1992)
- Qulliq (Oil Lamp, 1993)
- Nunavut: Our Land (1994–95), a 13-part TV series
- Piujuk & Angutautuk (1994)
- Sanannguarti (Carver, 1995)
- Nipi (Voice, 1999)
- Nanugiurutiga (My First Polar Bear, 2000)
- Ningiura (My Grandmother, 2000)
- Anaana (Mother, 2001)
- Ajainaa! (Almost!, 2001)
- Artcirq (2001)
- Arviq! (Bowhead!, 2002)
- Angakkuiit (Shaman Stories, 2003)
- Kunuk Family Reunion (2004)
- Unakuluk (Dear little one, 2005)
- Qallunajatut (Urban Inuk, 2005)
- Kiviaq vs. Canada (2006)
- Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change (2011)
- Kivitoo: What They Thought of Us (2018)
See also
