September 21, 2001

Atanarjuat honoured

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Nunavut’s favourite film won top prize Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Atanarjuat, also called the “The Fast Runner” — was named the best Canadian feature film at this year’s festival. The movie, produced by Igloolik Isuma Productions Ltd., is the first full-length film made in Inuktitut.

The movie has already received rave reviews around the world. This spring at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France, director Zacharias Kunuk won the Palme d’Or prize for the best first film.

At the Toronto festival, judges lauded Atanarjuat for “its sophisticated telling of a mythic tale that reflects the complexities of the human spirit.”

The mood of the festival was sombre, however, due to the terrorist attacks in the United States. Atanarjuat’s Sept. 11 debut was delayed, and many other events and screenings were either pushed back or cancelled.