Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) Atanarjuat (original title)

Director:

Zacharias Kunuk

Writers:

Pauloosie Qulitalik (additional writer)
Zacharias Kunuk (additional writer)
(more)

Release Date:

1 February 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

The telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.

Plot Keywords:

Inuit | Arctic | Evil Spirit | Shaman | Revenge

Awards:

22 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Natar Ungalaaq	...	Atanarjuat
Sylvia Ivalu	...	Atuat
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq	...	Oki
Lucy Tulugarjuk	...	Puja
Madeline Ivalu	...	Panikpak
Pauloosie Qulitalik	...	Qulitalik / A shaman (as Paul Qulitalik)
Eugene Ipkarnak	...	Sauri, the chief
Pakak Innuksuk	...	Amaqjuaq (as Pakkak Innushuk)
Neeve Irngaut	...	Uluriaq
Abraham Ulayuruluk	...	Tungajuaq
Apayata Kotierk	...	Kumaglak
Mary Qulitalik	...	Niriuniq
Luke Taqqaugaq	...	Pittiulak
Alex Uttak	...	Pakak
Eric Nutarariaq	...	Young Sauri
Stephen Qrunnut	...	Young Tulimaq
Pipily Akkitirq	...	Young Pittaluk
Mary Angutautuk	...	Young Panikpak
Charlie Qulitalik	...	Young Qulitalik
Atuat Akkitiq	...	Sauri's wife
Catherine Alaralak	...	Young Sauri's wife
Susan Kublu	...	Young Qulitalik's wife
Samueli Ammaq	...	Sigluk
Micheline Ammaq	...	Asa
Lucien Ukkalianuk	...	Uttuqiaq
Therese Ukkalianuk	...	Saku
Felix Alaralak	...	Tulimaq
Elizabeth Nutarakittuq	...	Pittaluk
Jenny Irngaut	...	Oki's wife
Rita Ijjiraq	...	Pittiulak's wife
Andrew Uyarasuk	...	Young Sigluk
Cindy Paniaq	...	Young Sigluk's wife
Lou Paula Kunuk	...	Young Uttuqiaq
Maggie Ukkalianuk	...	Young Uttuqiaq's wife
Arsene Ivalu	...	Qillaq
Racheal Uyarasuk	...	Elder lady
Catherine Arnatsiaq	...	Elder lady
Reena Qulitalik	...	Child Kigutikaajuk
Bernice Ivalu	...	Child Kumaglak
Mark Alaralak	...	Child Amaqjuat
Isa Akkitirq	...	Child Oki
Laurent Arnatsiaq	...	Baby Atanarjuat
Isa Ammaq	...	Child
Cora Akkitirq	...	Child
Steven Akkitirq	...	Child
Wilma Ammaq	...	Child
Daniel Akkitirq	...	Child
Hayley-June Ammaq	...	Child
Colleen Ulayuruluk	...	Child
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrew Micheli	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Zacharias Kunuk

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paul Apak Angilirq
Norman Cohn		additional writer
Zacharias Kunuk		additional writer
Herve Paniaq		additional writer
Pauloosie Qulitalik		additional writer

Produced by
Paul Apak Angilirq	....	producer: Igloolik Isuma
Sally Bochner	....	executive producer: NFB
Norman Cohn	....	producer: Igloolik Isuma
Zacharias Kunuk	....	producer: Igloolik Isuma
Germaine Wong	....	producer: NFB (as Germaine Ying Gee Wong)

Original Music by
Chris Crilly

Cinematography by
Norman Cohn

Film Editing by
Norman Cohn
Zacharias Kunuk
Marie-Christine Sarda

Production Design by
James Ungalaaq

Costume Design by
Atuat Akkitirq

Makeup Department
Therese Ipkarnak	....	hair stylist
Therese Ipkarnak	....	makeup artist
Susan Kublu	....	assistant makeup artist
Bob Pritchard	....	hair consultant
Bob Pritchard	....	makeup supervisor
Sidonie Ungalaaq	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Norman Cohn	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pakak Innuksuk	....	second assistant director
James Ungalaaq	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Stephen Qrunnut	....	assistant props
James Ungalaaq	....	props supervisor

Sound Department
Don Ayer	....	sound effects editor
Serge Boivin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Crilly	....	sound post-production supervisor
Natalie Fleurant	....	dialogue editor
Henry Godding Jr.	....	adr recordist (as Henry Godding)
Thomas Kodros	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Goro Koyama	....	foley artist
Richard Lavoie	....	sound recordist
Eric Lemoyne	....	music mix
Oleksa Lozowchuk	....	sound mixer
Andy Malcolm	....	foley artist
Ron Malligers	....	foley mixer (as Ron Mellegers)
Jean-Paul Vialard	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rebecca Wright	....	foley assistant

Special Effects by
Walter Klassen	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Stanley Monahan	....	optical effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Marie-Hélène Cousineau	....	still photographer (as Marie-Helene Cousineau)
Viviane Delisle	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Micheline Ammaq	....	wardrobe manager
Simeonie Ukkalianuk	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Laurent Arnatsiaq	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Samueli Ammaq	....	dog wrangler
Amelia Angilirq	....	continuity
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq	....	dog wrangler
Norman Cohn	....	script editor
Anne Frank	....	script editor
Anne Frank	....	story consultant
Jocelyne Loiselle	....	production accountant
Raymond Taqqaugaq	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
• Canada Television and Cable Production Fund License Program (CTCPF)
• Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)
• Canadian Government
• Canadian Television (CTV)
• Channel 24 Igloolik
• Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc.
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
• Telefilms Equity Investment Program
• Vision Television

Distributors

• Alcine Terran (Japan) (theatrical)
• Contact Film (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Lot 47 Films (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2004) (Slovenia) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2002) (Canada) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Essential Films (2002) (New Zealand)
• ICA Projects (2002) (UK)
• Isuma Distributing International
• LNK Filmes
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Mediafilm
• Moskwood Media (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Odeon Films (Canada)
• Rialto Entertainment (2002) (New Zealand)
• Rézo Films (France)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Audio Post Production SPR Inc.  adr recording
• Digital Film Group  digital video-to-film transfer

Also Known As:

"Atanarjuat" - Canada (original title)
"The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)" - USA

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity and violence

Runtime:

172 min | Argentina:174 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Australia:168 min | Finland:172 min (Helsinki International Film Festival) | UK:168 min | USA:161 min (DVD version)

Country:

Canada

Language:

Inuktitut

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | France:U | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:10 | Japan:PG-12 | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG (cut)

Filming Locations:

Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada

Company:

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Trivia:

While this film would never get SPCA approval, every animal killed was used in true Inuit fashion; all the meat was consumed, and the skins were put to practical use.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just before Atanarjuat jumps over the crevasse, the shadow of a crew member appears in the snow, at the bottom of the screen, to the left.

Quotes:

Atuat:[to Atanarjuat] I hunt you. Your my own wolf.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

Beautiful, Unprecedented

I saw this movie last night and went to bed without words. After having a chance to sleep on it, it is now starting to sink in how truly amazing this movie was. You will be first blown away by the fact that this movie even exists. It is truly unprecedented in every sense of the word. I don't remember seeing anything like it, since maybe "Nanook of the North", which would be a stretch. Unlike "Nanook", this movie is shot from the Inuit perspective, the characters are not looked upon as anthropological specimens. They are people living in a fragile existence, where any wrong move could mean sure death.

The actors are astonishing, and it must have been so terribly cold up there, that you know this was a labor of love for the production team. The scenery is astonishing. Almost everyone who participated in this production was full-blooded Inuit. It is a beautiful story based on an Inuit legend that exists on many different levels and subplots, etc. All told on the frozen tundra without ANY indication given about the timeframe, or even century, in which it was set.

I am just astonished at the painstaking attention to historical detail. I have read many books on Inuit culture, and most everything I have read was visualized in this movie, the social structure, the power of the patriarch, the constant looming of starvation, the role of the hunter/husband, the insubordination of women (pre-arranged marriages), the obsession with taboo and curses, the fine art of building igloos and staying warm in -60 temps, and yet, through all the hardships, there was so much happiness. They even showed how the dogs were handled and treated, even down to the way they would slicken their sledge rails by spitting small amounts of water on them until a layer of slick frozen ice formed, which makes the sledges slide easier over the pack ice. The one thing that I thought of today was how the movie was TOTALLY absent of the white, European influence. Their knives were made from caribou horns; they had no metal knives or metal cookware, which indicates that the movie was purposely based on a time before the Inuit's first contact with white men.

It has a slow start, it's only fault. You will be a bit confused at first, trying to understand the characters and what exactly is happening, but then it starts to really suck you in, you begin to love the protagonists, who are physically beautiful people, and then you will grow to hate the antagonists, who are mean and undesirable. Afterwards, you will realize that almost all of these people, cast and crew, were full-blooded Inuit. You will then want to immediately see it again and demand a documentary on the making of this film. You will want to know who these people are, what they do in their normal lives, because most of these actors are making their big screen debut. The end of the movie gives you a quick behind-the-scenes peek, but it serves as only a small appetizer to a bigger feast. Most importantly, your respect for their pride and perseverance of their culture will increase ten-fold