In her brilliant short film Three Thousand (2017), the Montreal-based Inuk artist Asinnajaq presents an illuminating vision of Inuit life. Her film intertwines a century of footage from the archive of the National Film Board of Canada, along with commissioned animations. Early black-and-white ethnographic films blend with color images, including scenes of Inuit children in Canada’s notorious residential school system and, eventually, visuals with aurora-inspired colours that hint at a vibrant Inuit future. The flurry of scenes is set to a score of lullabies, stirring strings, Inuit throat singing and sounds of the Canadian north. Asinnajaq’s collage forms a unified, stirring whole – one that shines with contradictions, vitality and hope.

nb: if the video above fails to open, please visit our homepage.