Want to make a film? New fund aims to help Northerners make it happen

There will be a new fund for Indigenous filmmakers to access across the circumpolar North.

The Arctic Indigenous Film Fund launched last week at the Indigenous Film Conference in Norway. It's an international collaboration between film organizations in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia.

"It's a really exciting project," said Huw Eirug, the CEO Nunavut Film Development Corporation.

Eirug said the purpose of the fund is to support more production of Indigenous films, help youth to work in the media industry from their own communities, and encourage collaboration between Indigenous people around the world.

"We might end up in a situation where we have an Inuit writer for example … [and it's] directed by a Sami director," he said, adding it's an opportunity for Inuit to influence others, and to be influenced.

The fund comes at a crucial time "with the Arctic being the focus of much global attention due to the effects of climate change," states a release from the Canada Media Fund.

"It's important that our voice is heard — not only in Nunavut, not only in Canada, but across the globe."

The next step is raising enough money to keep the project afloat, according to Eirug.

"At the moment the fund is growing," he said.

"The idea now is that we all go back to our countries and we help toward funding the film fund."

Filmmakers in Canada can apply for money by getting in touch with Nunavut Film Development Corporation.

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