Animations from Cape Dorset (1973)
Filed under: Animation, 1970s, Canada, collage, Color, Cutout, Experimental, hand-drawn, National Film Board of Canada, Papercut, Racial representation, Short Collection, Stop Motion,
Animations from Cape Dorset
Producers:Sikusilarmiut, NFB
Release date:1973
Running time:18 mins
Color process:Color
Synopsis
Animation from Cape Dorset is a 1973 experimental animated short film made by a group of artists in Kinnigat, Nunavut (formerly Cape Dorset.) The film combines seventeen pieces made by six Inuit animators, including Solomonie Pootoogook, Timmun Alariaq, Mathew Joanasie, and Itee Pootoogook Pilaloosie. Each short blends experimental animation styles with depictions of Inuit folklore and modern life in Kinnigat. (“Animation from Cape Dorset”, NFB)
The film was a product of the Sikusilarmiut Animation Studio, an animation collective founded in Nunavut during a National Film Board of Canada (NFB) technical workshop in 1972. During this workshop, the animators developed a unique style that can be seen in Animation from Cape Dorset. Each director in Animation from Cape Dorset uses a different format including paper cutouts, stopmotion, hand drawn animation, and photo collage. The shorts also experiment with sound, as some have narrated stories from Inuit folklore, some feature a score of traditional throat singing, and others are silent. (“Animation from Cape Dorset”, NFB)
Reception:
Animation from Cape Dorset was the product of collaboration between a number of Inuit directors, the NFB, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and the government of the Northwest Territories. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to an award at the Animafest Zagreb festival in 1974. The film has since been restored, preserved, and made available by the NFB. Today, the film stands as a bold piece of experimental Inuit filmmaking and a landmark in the history of Indigenous filmmaking in Northern Canada. (“Long-lost Inuit animation films restored and released after 50 years”, Nunatsiaq News)
References:
“Animation from Cape Dorset” (1973), NFB. Accessed 27 Sept. 2025.
Bimal, Nehaa. “Long-Lost Inuit Animation Films Restored and Released after 50 Years.” Nunatsiaq News, 18 July 2025, nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/long-lost-inuit-animation-films-restored-and-released-after-50-years/.