Vanishing Point / directed by: Stephen A. Smith, Julia Szucs ; produced by: David Christensen, Julia Szucs, David Christensen ; production agency: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal).
A dog team pulls an Inughuit family across the vast sea ice of Greenland. But with the terrain melting beneath them, the dogs break through the surface, plunging into frigid polar waters. Navarana, an elder and one of the passengers on this sled, is coming to terms with the unprecedented changes facing all Arctic peoples. In the 1860s, Navarana's visionary ancestor-a shaman from Baffin Island, Canada, named Qitdlarssuaq-embarked on a legendary and epic journey, leading an Inuit migration to Greenland. It was this shaman's quest that introduced vital bloodlines and technology to Navarana's beleaguered forbearers. Over 150 years later, Navarana travels to her ancestor's homeland to connect with her distant Canadian cousins. Navarana accompanies families from both regions on their annual hunting journeys. She witnesses how these two genetically-linked groups of Inuit have adapted differently to outside influences and to the inescapable changes that affect their hunting traditions. Through her experiences, she hopes to find the key to making the right choices for her people's survival. Navarana draws inspiration and hope from the ties that still bind these two communities, as well as from the legacy of her intrepid ancestor, at a time when circumpolar peoples are facing the greatest social and environmental challenges in their history.
Record details
- Physical Description: 1 streaming video (82 min., 23 sec.) : sound
- Publisher: Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2015.
- Copyright: ©2012
Content descriptions
General Note: | Agency - English program:.North West Centre. |
Restrictions on Access Note: | No restrictions. |
Creation/Production Credits Note: | Director, Stephen A. Smith, Julia Szucs ; writer, Stephen A. Smith, Julia Szucs, Marina Endicott ; director of photography, Stephen A. Smith, Julia Szucs ; editor, Scott Parker ; sound, David Poisey, Stephen A. Smith ; producer, David Christensen, Julia Szucs ; executive producer, David Christensen. |
Participant or Performer Note: | Narrator, Navarana K'avigak' Sørensen. |
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note: | Recorded 2012. |
Target Audience Note: | 12-18. |
System Details Note: | Mode of access: World Wide Web. |
Awards Note: | Audience Choice Award, 2013 Second Prize: Rigoborta Menchú Award, 2013 Best Production Reflecting Cultural Diversity, 2013 Kamera Alpin in Gold Award (Alpine and Foreign Cultures), 2013 |
Source of Description Note: | Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2023-04-05). |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Dogsleds. Hunting > Arctic regions. Journeys > Arctic regions > Canada. Older women > Arctic regions. Inuit > Arctic regions. Arctic regions > Climate. Greenland > Environmental conditions. |
Genre: | Documentary films. |
Topic Heading: | National Film Board > National Film Board Collection |