September 7, 2001

Zach Kunuk: no one-hit wonder

Atanarjuat wows audiences in Australia, Scotland and the U.S.

ALISON BLACKDUCK
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Recent events are proving to the world that Igloolik filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk isn't a one-hit wonder.

Kunuk's much-lauded film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is making its Canadian festival debut Tuesday night at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival.
Atanarjuat won Kunuk the Camera d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival in France.

The Camera d'Or is awarded to the most promising directorial debut in the prestigious festival.

Since that fateful day in May, Kunuk and the other members of Igloolik's Isuma Productions film company have gone on to win more awards and wow more sold-out audiences.

According to a press release issued by Isuma's public relations officer Katarina Soukup:

• In late July and early August, audiences at the 50th Melbourne International Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia voted Atanarjuat the second most popular film in the 2001 Stella Artois Audience Poll.
• Less than three weeks ago, after being shown to three sold-out crowds at the 55th Edinburgh Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, Kunuk was named the co-winner of the Guardian Award for best new director. The other winner was Michael Cuesta, the director of Lies.

Atanarjuat was also screened throughout the summer for enthusiastic audiences in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand at the New Zealand Film Festival; the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado; and Sydney, Australia at a special screening hosted by the Canadian Consul General to Sydney, John Mundy.

Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik attended the Aug. 7 screening in Sydney during his recent state visit to Australia.

"It was a full capacity crowd — by-invitation-only — of 300 people," Okalik said during a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon. "It was very positive, overwhelming… People were in awe.

"They thought the actors were good and the environment was totally different to them, the landscape, the people."

Okalik said his evening ended on a promising note: "I had a good, productive supper with an executive of Becker Entertainment Group. They own the Dendy cinema chain. They're one of the major film distributors in Australia. They're very interested in distributing the film in Australia."

Okalik said that he had planned to attend Atanarjuat's Canadian festival premiere, but had to bow out because of a scheduling conflict.

However, he said Peter Kattuk, Nunavut's minister of culture, language, elders and youth, will represent the GN in Toronto.

The film is premiering at the Elgin Theatre, a "beautiful venue" according to Geoff Pevere, a film critic and columnist for the Toronto Star.

"(The Elgin) has a strong sense of event. It feels like an old movie palace," Pevere said in a telephone interview from the Toronto Star newsroom. "A couple of years ago, Norman Jewison premiered The Hurricane there… It has a sense of occasion that none of the other theatres here do."

Pevere said that he hasn't heard any buzz about Atanarjuat, yet.

But he said Kunuk and company should have a good time because Toronto's festival-going crowd is "fun."

"People (here) are just so happy to be part of a splashy, Hollywood-type event," Pevere said.

The festival began yesterday and will run until next Saturday.