Inuit Film

At 9:30 in the morning there was a phone call from the team. Today was a fine day with a temperature of -36°C They were able to start proceeding inland. If the condition is right, they can move more than 100km per day using parasails. The next resupply point is more than 600km from where they are now. I hope that they can reach there before food and fuel will run out.

Today here in Resolute Bay was a blizzard day, so I spent time watching a DVD movie "The Fast Runner". This movie is based on a legend "Atanarjuat (fast runner)" which was passed by word of mouth from generation to generation in Inuit society. This movie is set in Igloolik Island located northeast of Canada, depicting love and hate across four generations of a family and people's lives in an Inuit society. It beautifully shows a winter wonderland of the region where all the sceneries are covered with ice.

The director of the movie Zacharias Kunuk won an award for first-time director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. He was also awarded the Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. The cast is chosen from local people, and the director, screenwriter, and almost all the other staff members are Inuit. It was the first Inuit film produced by the Inuit. As a feature film rich in originality, it has gathered much attention from all over the world.

The traditional lifestyles of the Inuit are depicted in the film.

It was a story of old days and there were also murder and rape scenes. I was surprised that such things had happened in the Inuit community because I thought the Inuit is a peaceful hunting people.

In the movie, one can see how it was like before the influx of Western cultures. Especially what attracted my interest were clothing and tools.

Woman's clothing called "Amautik" A child is carried in a big hood of Amautik.

A long time ago Amautik was made of Caribou skins and people wore it on naked body. Children were also carried naked in the hood.

Caribou is a reindeer in North America. They live in the wide range of Alasaka and the Canadian Arctic. The short summer is the season for child rearing. Tens to hundreds of thousand of caribous gather in crowds. The meat of caribou is an important source of protein for the Inuit people. Some Inuit say the most favorite food is caribou meat. I have not tried it yet, but it must be very delicious.

This Amautic has triple layers.

Innermost layer is a quilt.

The next layer is a fleece.

And the outer layer is the purple fabric. Because of the triple layers, the body temperature is kept warm.