Sharing Our Stories boxed set

Inuit films move online and into northern communitiesFilms about Inuit people and the North made over the last 70 years are being distributed online and in remote communities in a new initiative launched Wednesday.

Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories also will make more than 100 films created by the National Film Board of Canada more accessible to the rest of the country in an effort to interest Canadians in the issues faced by the North.

The official launch of Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories is Nov. 2 in Ottawa. Films such as 1949’s How to Build an Igloo, 1958’s The Living Stone and 2010’s Martha of the North also go online at nfb.ca on Wednesday.

But the more significant development is a joint project by the NFB, the Inuit Relations Secretariat, the Nunavut government and Inuit groups to show these films in the North. The limited internet access in northern communities means it was necessary to go beyond just creating online access, according to Tom Perlmutter, NFB chairman.

“That’s why we created the boxed set that will be sent out to 53 remote communities,” he said. “The plan is to go into schools and community halls.”Comment:  For more on Inuit movies, see Throat Song, The Descendants, and Stagecoach and The Experimental Eskimos Trailer.

Below:  "How to Build an Igloo is a 1949 short by Douglas Wilkinson. (National Film Board)