Season 1 Episode 1: Not of the North
In our inaugural episode, we discuss Dominic Gagnon’s latest film, of the North, and the controversy it sparked at The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) last month. Gagnon’s film has been labeled “incredibly racist” by many critics, including well-known Nunavut throat singer Tanya Tagaq. Gagnon made the film from found footage on YouTube and included questionable imagery of Inuit people to portray life in Canada’s northern most regions.
We sat down with imagineNATIVE Film Festival Executive Director, Jason Ryle, and Festival Programmer, Heather Haynes to discuss the issue and the much needed protocols for programming content about Indigenous communities.
Featured music on the show includes:
- Electric Pow Wow – Tribe Called Red
- Native Puppy Love – Tribe Called Red
- Ancestors –Byörk and Tanya Tagaq
- Theresa – Melody McKiver
For more information on Gagnon and his film, check out the following list of references:
- Tanya Tagaq blasts ‘incredibly racist’ Quebec film, ‘of the North’ – Robert Everett Green for the Globe and Mail
- Quebec filmmaker Dominic Gagnon explains the thinking behind his controversial documentary ‘of the North’ – Dominic Gagnon on the CBC
- Tanya Tagaq threatens legal action against ‘racist’ Quebec film ‘of the North’ – Simon
- Nakonechny for CBC News
Update!
- Of the North’s distributor apologizes to Inuit community – Simon Nakonechny for CBC New