Uvanga
A film by Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
Canada, Drama, 2013
86 min, HD, Color
Inuktitut, English with English subtitles
This film was screened as a part of the 2014 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF17)
Anna is nervous when she and her son, Tomas, arrive in the small community of Igloolik in the Canadian Arctic. Anna had a short-lived affair with Tomas’s Inuk father, but Tomas, now 14 years old, was born and raised in his mother’s native city of Montreal. The boy is bright and curious about his father’s culture, but his father is no longer around to show him the way. For his mother and Inuit family, the joy of homecoming is mixed with memories of a painful chapter in their shared history. Two weeks seem to blend into one long day under the midnight sun, as Anna and Thomas strive to rebuild the family they could no longer ignore. Beyond appearing at the Guadalajara International Film Festival and imagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival, UVANGA was also awarded Best Feature at the Yellowknife Film Festival.
Regional Premiere
About the directors
Marie-Hélène Cousineau formed the collective Arnait Video Workshop, and is its coordinator and collaborating producer. Her video work has been widely exhibited in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Co-director and featured player Madeline Piujuq Ivalu has been a key elder participant in Arnait projects since its inception. She represents Igloolik women to the Paukktutit organization and co-directed Arnait’s first feature, BEFORE TOMORROW.
Credits
Producer: Stèphane Rituit, Marie-Hélène Cousinea
Production Companies: Arnait Video Productions
Screenwriter: Marie-Hélène Cousineau
Cinematographer: Félix Lajeunesse, Alexandre Domingue
Editor: Glenn Berman
Sound Design: Lynne Trépanier, Luc Mandeville
Music: Alain Auger
Cast: Marianne Farley, Lukasi Forrest, Travis Kunnuk
Print Source: Vtape, info@vtape.org