Qanurli: TV show part Inuktitut language preservation, part laughter as medicine
After 7 seasons the Inuit comedy show is in its final season
Inuk and Nipangi are two hilarious dudes living in the north trying to make their own Inuktitut language show from a tent in the Arctic.
Needless to say, hilarity ensues.
That's the premise of Qanurli, an Inuktitut-language comedy show that features skits, commercial parodies, fake newscasts and a fun look at life across the north.
"[It's] showing that ... you might stumble through life sometimes but if you are persistent and dedicated, what you're trying to do might eventually work out," explained Vinnie Karetak, who plays Nipangi and is one of the creators of the program. The show also stars Malaya Qaunirq Chapman, Samson Wager Ford and Miali Buscemi.
"Inuit humour tends to be a lot of self-deprecating work that we do, we make fun of ourselves."
Karetak said Qanurli, now in its seventh and final season on APTN, also shares some of the values important to Inuit, like caring and sharing.
"It's important for us to showcase them and so we did that in a way that would be understandable but also keeps drawing the audience back for more."
He said young Inuit are surrounded by the English language every day so an Inuktitut language program helps keep the language alive, and added laughter is sometimes the best medicine.
"I have had teachers come up to me and say, 'Vinnie, we've had students who had a rough, rough evening. They're shaking, they're upset, they don't want to eat, they don't want to do anything. They come to class sort of locked off and shut down ... we set them aside, give them a computer, let them watch your episodes and they come back out feeling different and refreshed and willing to participate in class again.'"
He said response to the program from the Inuit community has been, for the most part, very positive.
"When I travel to the communities it's always pictures, pictures, pictures all over the place. So that's fun," he recalled. "[I'm a] Nunavut celebrity, as a friend of mine once pointed out, and I'm okay with that."