Giant Bear

When an impulsive boy named Kenai is magically transformed into a bear, he must literally walk in another's footsteps until he learns some valuable life lessons. His courageous and often zany journey introduces him to a forest full of wildlife, including the lovable bear cub Koda, hilarious moose Rutt and Tuke, woolly mammoths and rambunctious rams.

A lonely fisherman drifts into haunted waters in search of food and finds much more than he bargained for. Based on an Inuit folktale.

In this animated short, a self-important colonial explorer emerges from a sailing ship and plants a flag on the Arctic ice, as a bemused Inuit hunter looks on. Then the explorer plants another, and another, and another, while the hunter, clearly not impressed that his land has been “discovered,” quietly goes about his business. In this charming and humorous re-imagining of first contact between Inuit and European, Jonathan Wright brings us the story of a savvy hunter and the ill-equipped explorer he outwits.

According to Inuit oral history, long ago animals had the power of speech, could shift their appearances, and could even assume human form. In The Orphan and the Polar Bear, a neglected orphan is adopted by a polar bear elder. Under the bear’s guidance, the little orphan learns the skills he will need to survive and provide for himself.

Two young friends are spending a day away from their camp. Unfortunately for them, an ancient land spirit -- an amautalik -- is also in the area. Luckily for them both, one of the children's difficult life has taught him to think quickly.

On the eve of summer vacation, Prune leaves her parents for the traditional "end-of-year school trip." But once she's gone, an incredible snowstorm hits the small town where her family lives. Philémon, her younger brother, then makes an astonishing discovery: an Inuit family has settled on a roundabout. The meeting of these two worlds sets the stage for a wonderful adventure.

Taqralik Partridge asks what if every language that had been lost to English — every word, every syllable — grew up out of the ground in flowers? Taqralik’s grandmother’s Scottish Gaelic and her father’s Inuktitut unfold in memories of her family, of pain, and of love.

This collection assembles the first animated films to be made by Inuit artists at the NFB. Featured is work by Solomonie Pootoogook, Timmun Alariaq, Mathew Joanasie, and Itee Pootoogook Pilaloosie—all participants in the Cape Dorset (Baffin Island) Film Animation Workshop, established to teach animation skills to local artists. The soundtrack features performances by Aggeok and Peter Pitseolok. Commentary is provided in a blend of Inuktitut and English.

A polar bear is hunted by Eskimos. But suddenly the hunt gets interrupted. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

In this animated short the artist tells the story of an Inuit hunter who clubs a seal pup on the ice and then later dies himself. The film's ethereal images are created and transformed in sand.

Three young Inuits set off in search of a promised land to save their clan from starvation.

The Inuit folktale of an old woman and the orphaned polar bear cub she took in as her own child.

A young shaman must face her first test: a trip underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill.

He was called "He Who Has Two Souls". He was beautiful as a woman. And handsome as a man. He hesitated.

Inuit artist Asinnajaq plunges us into a sublime imaginary universe—14 minutes of luminescent, archive-inspired cinema that recast the present, past and future of her people in a radiant new light. Diving into the NFB’s vast archive, she parses the complicated cinematic representation of the Inuit, harvesting fleeting truths and fortuitous accidents from a range of sources—newsreels, propaganda, ethnographic docs, and work by Indigenous filmmakers. Embedding historic footage into original animation, she conjures up a vision of hope and beautiful possibility.

The Sun and the Moon are born, as a woman searches to reveal the identity of her mystery lover in this strikingly animated Inuit creation tale.

In the folklore of most cultures around the world there are stories of magical little folk. And the Arctic is no exception. Inuit traditional knowledge is filled with references to many different races and tribes of little folk. These beings always try to avoid human encounters, but over the years Inuit hunters and shaman have gathered stories and experiences to help us understand these small inhabitants. This short introduces viewers to the little folk of the Arctic.

The story of an ice-fishing trip taken by two unlikely friends—Ukaliq the Arctic hare and Kalla the lemming. Well-meaning but impatient, Ukaliq can’t catch a single Arctic char! Good thing Kalla is there. Embodying the calm, thoughtful nature of traditional hunters and those who live in the Arctic, Kalla shares his wisdom—and his snacks—with his unprepared friend.

For an Inuit fisherman, technology means absurdity. Floating out on a block of ice, he doesn't have any other choice to grab onto some flying fish to save himself.

Sloth pokes gentle fun at stereotypes about the Inuit people, past and present.