Legend:
Q= question
Qa= Qalingo
E= Elisapee
Q: What characters did you played in the film?
QA: I played Patunguya and my wife played Kumak. Our grandchild played Pikku Paniapik.
Q: Patunguya, is there a scene from the film that brings to mind powerful feelings?
QA: I
had acted before in the South, but it didn’t touch my heart. But this
film, it really touched my heart. Inuit women did some of the
directing, real Inuit women who knew about our traditional lifestyle
and traditional hunting tools. I feel most strongly about the scene
where we use the kayait; five of us men using kayait and wearing real
Inuit traditional clothing. We were very happy, making jokes and
laughing. It really reminded me of our traditional lifestyle and it
really touched me.
Q: Were you acting for other people before?
QA: Yes,
I was in a film called Agaguk [Note – footnote with info on director,
date, etc of movie]. Lou Diamond Philips was Agaguk and I played as his
best friend. It was something new to me and my first time acting. In
this movie I was more experienced. I am happy that I acted in this
movie.
Q: Elisapee what scenes bring to mind the most powerful feelings for you?
EL: The
scene with Kuutujuk. Patunguya played her adopted son and I was her
daughter-in-law. In this scene we are going to a small island and she
did not want to be left behind, she wanted to go along. When they
agreed for her to do so - and her son said yes to her - it touched my
heart.
I also liked the scene where the children are playing
with a family of wooden dolls. It reminded me of when I was a child - I
used to have a family of wooden dolls. I was happy to see that in the
film.
Q: What did you think of the exchange between Puvirnituq-Igloolik?
QA: I
felt that we Inuit from Puvirnituq are falling behind. The filmmakers
from Igloolik are searching and finding out what traditions and tools
were like in the past. They are finding out by asking questions. They
know more than us. We are forgetting Inuit traditions and traditional
ways of hunting.
Q: What did you think of the clothing?
QA:
We had comfortable clothing. It was made by professional Inuit sewers.
In the first movie I acted in (Agaguk), the clothes we made by white
people and they did not know about our traditional clothing. They made
us wear thick winter clothing. In this film, our clothing was
comfortable and was made by people who knew what they were doing. That
was the difference.
E: The men's clothing was comfortable
for them, but for the women from Nunavik the Igloolik-style amauti
[Note – is an amauti a parka?] were not too comfortable. The hood was
longer and kind of uncomfortable.
Q: Do you have other comments?
EL:
I want to thank people from Igloolik. They knew what to do, they knew
their scenes, and they also knew our traditional lifestyle. They were
really good directors and I thank them.
QA: We became
good friends with the people from Igloolik. In my heart, I will never
forget them. We welcomed each other and everybody was happy. They also
lifted-up our self-esteem. I’m sure the people from Igloolik felt the
same. This was a big thing for me.
