Kent Nagano directs throatsingers Taqralik Partridge and Evie Mark
(credit: Robert Fréchette)
The other day at Cinéma Parallèle I saw a really excellent new documentary on the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra‘s visit to three Inuit communities in Nunavik. Tusarnituuq! Nagano in the Land of the Inuit was directed by Félix Lajeunesse and produced by Katarina Soukoup. It’s a moving account of the preparations for and the realization of this exceptional concert tour and of Nagano and his musicians encountering the Arctic and Inuit culture. The real strength of the film is in the characters from the young Inuit throat singers to famed MSO conductor Kent Nagano whose unassuming charm makes for a compelling screen presence. The editing by Marie-Christine Sarda is excellent. I put a couple of questions to the director and the producer.
Felix, this shoot was a very concentrated one, just a few days. Was that difficult? How did you prepare?
Answer : It definitely was a very intense shoot! I knew from the start that most of the 52 minutes film would have to be shot in just four days. So I tried to figure out in advance what «moments» or scenes were absolutely essential for the characters and story of the film. By imagining those moments in advance, I knew I would get a better sense of what to focus on during the actual shooting, and what sacrifices I could make. As an example, I knew that four days was a very short time for M.Nagano and the musicians to adapt to the North and the Inuit culture. So I spoke to my producer Katarina (who was also producing and organizing the Tour itself) and we both agreed that it was necessary, as early and often as possible in the Tour, to bring Kent Nagano and the musicians somewhere far out on the land (with Inuit guides), away from their schedules, rehearsals and instruments. Because I knew from my own previous Arctic experiences, that when you travel into the emptiness and grandeur of the Arctic with Inuit people (whether it’s the first time or whether you haven’t done it in a while), something quickly changes inside you. Time, space and light as you knew them cease to exist and you need to raise your awareness, open-mindedness and sensitivity to fuse with this new and powerful reality. I knew these moments would somehow make the characters of the film «come out» and it would help in bringing together the Inuit and OSM musicians. I worked with my director of photography and soundman to make sure we would be ready to film these moments properly when they come.
The full-house at the first concert in Inukjuak (photo: Robert Fréchette)
Katarina, you had almost all the key players on board, this must have taken quite a bit of time?
Answer : I found out about the tour while I was working with Avataq Cultural Institute. In addition to producing documentaries for Catbird, at the time I was also organizing a new Nunavik Arts Secretariat for Inuit artists in northern Quebec through Avataq. Avataq is a non-profit organization for the preservation and promotion of Inuit language and culture in Northern Quebec and the OSM approached them to help organize a tour of Nunavik about 2 ½ years ago. The idea of making a documentary about the tour came to me almost instantly – I knew that an artistic collaboration across cultures such as this one would be a very, very special encounter and felt it was vitally important to bear witness and share it with a wider public through the medium of film. I gathered up a group of talented collaborators, including Félix, who are all experienced in filming in the Arctic (and more importantly, working with Inuit) and we started brainstorming about how to make the film. The financing for the documentary, however, was quite tough, probably a reflection of how difficult it is to finance arts documentaries in these times. I started pitching it about 6 months before the tour began and knocked on every door you could imagine. We actually didn’t close financing until our documentary was at the rough cut stage, which meant Catbird took a huge financial risk in going ahead with the shoot with no guarantee that we would be able to finish the film. It made for quite a few sleepless nights! But ultimately what made me take that risk was the strong, driving belief that this cross cultural moment HAD to be documented and shared no matter what. And I hope our audiences find that it was worth it too.
Our financers include Radio-Canada and ARTV (the first broadcasters to become attached to the project), as well as Rogers Fund, SODEC, APTN, Filmoption International, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, the Kativik Regional Government, and tax credits. It’s a mix of standard and non-traditional doc financing, again I think a reflection of how creative doc producers must be these days in raising the financing for their films.
Thanks to Jessica Berglund for the help with this post.
