Because he’s not aboriginal, filmmaker Neil Christopher, left, is a little nervous about what kind of reception he’ll receive at the ImagineNATIVE film festival Wednesday. Christopher’s animated short, Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, kicks off the opening night gala program ahead of On the Ice, a first feature from US director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean.
Christopher’s professional partner and producer, Louise Flaherty, is Inuk so there won’t be any question about why the film is screening at ImagineNATIVE. And although questions of race and cultural appropriation irk Christopher just a little, he’s tremendously proud of his contribution on this and other projects.
“In the North, in Nunavut, I have no insecurity about not being aboriginal,” he tells me over coffee in Toronto. “I’m Nunavummiut, I have hunting rights, I contribute to my community, I served two terms on town council in Resolute Bay. I would NEVER be invited to be part of a band council down South, it’s a totally different mindset.”
Christopher has lived in the Nunavut for 15 years; he went up on a one year contract to help establish a high school and never looked back. He jokes about that first trip being like Gilligan’s Island, a three-hour tour that never seemed to end but he’s immensely happy in the North (presently calling Iqaluit home). “Frankly, I don’t know what I’d do down South that has as much meaning for me in terms of being part of a community and working hard on something that’s needed.”
Flaherty and Christopher crossed paths at Nunavut Arctic College where they work educating the next generation of teachers. Both were struck by the lack of Northern educational resources, books and stories written by and for Northerners, so they pooled their energy and finances and founded Inhabit Media, a young publishing company focused on Northern work. The Country of Wolves — darkly and beautifully drawn by Daniel Gies — is the company’s second film, although the first has yet to see the light.
As a kid fascinated by Greek and Norse mythology, Christopher says he could hardly have done better than to land in a place with such a rich folkloric tradition. One day he noticed one of his young students doodling and when he asked about the subject of the sketch he was told the story of Mahaha, an Arctic monster who tickles his victims to death. Since then, Christopher has devoted himself to collecting stories and tales from elders while they’re still here to share their knowledge.
“Everyone knows that the language is disappearing, the oral history is disappearing,” he says. “We don’t want this knowledge lost. Inhabit was founded in 2006 but we really didn’t get going until two and a half or three years ago. Give us 10 and we’ll see what we have at that stage.”
Christopher is nearing the end of a two-year sabbatical from his College and will soon be returning to full-time teaching, which also means a return to treating Inhabit as a sideline he indulges evenings and weekends when his work schedule permits.
Inhabit’s next TV project is another animated version of an ancient aboriginal tale. In the meantime, ImagineNATIVE calls.
“I’m definitely interested to see the reaction at the festival,” says the director. “I’m tired of having to answer to those who condemn me for not being aboriginal. My life energy is worth something, too, and I’ve given most of it to the North. I’m trying to better my community. I understand the sensitivities of the South and what might be their criticism and that’s fine but I’m not working for the South. I want money from the South but my accountability is to the North.”
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