Sikusilarmiut Animation Studio
Founded:1972
Closed:1975
Description
General:
The Sikusilarmiut Animation Studio was an animation collective in Kinnigat, Nunavut that existed from 1972-1975. The studio, which was founded by a group of Inuit artists during a National Film Board of Canada (NFB) workshop, made a series of experimental short films. While many of these shorts were unavailable to the public for over 50 years, their works have now been digitized and rereleased by the NFB (Inuit Art Foundation, par 1)
Beginnings:
Sikusilarmiut was a born out of a six week animation workshop in what is now known as Kinnigat, Nunavut (at the time Cape Dorset, Northwest Territories). The idea to create an animation studio in the region was sparked when a number of filmmakers from Ontario and Quebec traveled to Nunavut to work on their own animated films for the NFB. While in Kinnigat, Wolf Koening, a director with the NFB, organized a local group interested in animation. Once a collection of aspiring animators was formed, the group saught out funding from the NFB, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and the Government of the Northwest Territories. They received the necessary funding and in 1972 Koening held an intensive technical workshop on a variety of animation styles and forms. (Martin Florez, par 1-4)
Film Production form 1972-75:
After the NFB workshop in 1972, a handful of animators who had been a part of the project decided to form a small studio where they could continue to produce works as a collective. They named it Sikusilarmiut, which means “people from the place where the ice meets the snow”. (Sikusilarmiut, 1:00-4:00)
Over the course of the next three years, the group would produce around fifty eight short films, the most widely known being the 1973 short collection Animation from Cape Dorset. In order to release these films, John Taylor of the NFB would travel to Kinnigat and compile the short clips into longer pieces more fit for film distribution networks like the CBC and the NFB. Animation from Cape Dorset, would later go on to be shown at the 1974 Cannes film festival and to win an award for its experimental style at the Zagreb Animation Festival. Despite these accolades, many of the filmmakers were not fully aware of how the NFB was using and distributing their works internationally. (Floréz par.6-9)
The End of the Studio:
In December 1975, after three years of film production, the Sikusilarmiut animation studio would officially disband. There were a number of factors which led up to this closure, including a lack of funding and a lack of artists, as many of the studio’s key animators, such as Salomonie J. Pootoogook and Timmun Alariaq, left to go work in other art collectives. Another key reason for the group’s closure was a disagreement between the animators and the NFB over what the content of the films should be, with the artists wanting to create more experimental and narrative films, and the NFB wanting to make educational public health films. (Floréz par. 3-5)
Style:
Sikusilarmiut was part of the first “Nunavut New Wave” of Inuit made films in the 1970s, which focused on blending experimental styles and storytelling with traditional Inuit art styles. (Floréz, par.7-10)
Sikusilarmiut did not use a standard animation medium, as the experimental nature of the group allowed for the creation of stop motion, paper cut-out, and hand drawn films. The films were also made in an incredibly collaborative environment, where animators would combine their various individual styles to create a constantly-evolving visual style. (Floréz, par.10-11)
Inuit folklore, the experience of modern Inuit communities, the tension between traditional ways of living and the modern colonial state, are common thematic elements in the films of Sikusilarmiut. However, they also made a number of public-safety ads about alcohol use at the bequest of the NFB. (Floréz par.5)
Restoration and Legacy:
While Sikusilarmiut has always been a landmark in Canadian Animation and Inuit filmmaking history, their work was lost for nearly half a century. With the exception of Animation from Cape Dorset, all of the studio’s films were unreleased and remained buried in archival storage. Recently, however, Camilo Martín Floréz of the NFB was able to scan, digitize, and restore the films made by Sikusilarmiut. They are now available through the NFB archives. (Bimal, par 2-11)
Even though it lasted less than five years Sikusilarmiut had a massive impact on the creation of Inuit films. The collective has been described by Floréz as “the founders of Inuit media, by Inuit, for Inuit”, and the filmmaking infrastructure they created in Nunavut would go on to influence future animated and narrative filmmakers in the region. (Bimal, par 16-22)
Select filmography:
- Animations from Cape Dorset (1973)
References:
Nunatsiaq News, 18 July 2025, nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/long-lost-inuit-animation-films-restored-and-released-after-50-years/.
Inuit Art Foundadtion. “Inuit Filmmakers’ Animations Rereleased 50 Years Later.” Inuit Art Foundation, 25 July 2025, www.inuitartfoundation.org/iaq-online/inuit-filmmakers-animations-rediscovered-50-years-later.
Martín-Flórez, Camilo. “The Forgotten Reels of Nunavut’s Animation Workshop (Beginnings).” NFB Blog, 9 Oct. 2025, blog.nfb.ca/blog/2025/09/09/the-forgotten-reels-of-nunavuts-animation-workshop-beginnings/.
Martín-Flórez, Camilo. “The Forgotten Reels of Nunavut’s Animation Workshop (the Legacy).” NFB Blog, 16 Sept. 2025, blog.nfb.ca/blog/2025/09/09/the-forgotten-reels-of-nunavuts-animation-workshop-the-legacy/.
Raymont, Peter. “Sikusilarmiut.” National Film Board of Canada, 1975, www.nfb.ca/film/sikusilarmiut/.