Nyla Innuksuk
Nyla Innuksuk is an Inuit film director, writer, and producer, and virtual reality content creator.[1] She is the CEO of Mixtape VR, formerly known as NKSK.[2]
Nyla Innuksuk | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | |
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Film director |
Early life
Innuksuk was born in Igloolik and spent her childhood growing up in Iqaluit.[3][4] She attended Ryerson University, where she received a degree in film production in 2009.[3]
Film work
Innuksuk has mainly worked on short documentary and fiction films focusing on Inuit and Indigenous peoples' stories.[3] Her films are portraits of communities and community members in the Arctic, with a strong commitment to including community members in production phases of a film.[3] Her films often also have a focus on the youth in Inuit communities, and the social problems they face.[5][6]
Innuksuk has also won Canada's Pitch This competition by Telefilm Canada for her project titled Qalupalik.[4] She was director resident at the Canadian Film Centre.[7]
Kajutaijuq (2015)
Co-written and co-produced by Innuksuk,[8] Kajutaijuq premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival[8] and was selected as one of the Canada's Top Ten Short Films from 2014.[9] Set in the Arctic wilderness, the fiction film follows a hunter, played by Johnny Issaluk,[8] who uses traditional skills to survive.[8] The film is also included in Reel Canada's Indigenous Programme for Canadian National Film Day.[10]
Breaths (2016)
Innuksuk was the writer and director for Breaths, a short documentary made for the Governor General's Performing Arts Award recipient, Susan Aglukark.[11][12]
Virtual reality work
Pinnguaq Productions
Since April 2015, Innuksuk has been a co-owner at the non-for-profit startup, Pinnguaq. With Innuksuk joining the Pinnguaq team, they created the department called Pinnguaq Productions. This division specializes in virtual reality and 360 degree filmmaking.[3] Projects have included capturing the Pope's 2015 visit to Ecuador and the creation of an interactive trailer for Bang Bang Baby a Toronto International Film Festival film.[3]
Innuksuk has worked with a variety of artists such as from The Strumbellas, Glenn Gould, Philip Glass, as well as Indigenous artists Tanya Tagaq and A Tribe Called Red.[13] The recent project with A Tribe Called Red, called DocX: A Tribe Called Red: Indian City 360°, is an immersive virtual reality that allows the listener to be the DJ and mix their own track.[3][14] Innuksuk left Pinnguaq in March 2017.
2167
In partnership with Toronto International Film Festival, imagineNATIVE, and the Initiative for Indigenous Futures, Pinnguaq Productions created the 2167 project.[15] Using virtual reality, this project asks artists to imagine what a future Canada may look like.[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Contribution |
---|---|---|
2012 | Stories from Our Land 1.5: Innigruti: The Thing That Sings! (short) | Director/Writer |
2015 | Kajutaijuq (short) | Co-Writer/Co-Producer |
2015 | Stories from Our Land Vol. 2: Finding Home (short) | Director/Writer |
2016 | Breaths (short) | Director/Writer |
References
- Paul, Jonathan. "TIFF '16: VR ignites the festival circuit". Realscreen. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- "#HowIMadeIt: Nyla Innuksuk, Virtual Reality Producer". Flare magazine. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- "How an Inuit Filmmaker Is Using Virtual Reality to Tell Her Culture's Stories". Vice.com. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- "Because it's 2016: the Canadian film industry's gender gap". Now (newspaper).
- "What happens when indigenous artists repurpose Hollywood's old tricks". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
- "Ford Foundation partner to present creative doc lab focused on VR storytelling". Ford Foundation. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
- "Nyla Innuksuk". Canadian Film Centre. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- "Nunavut filmmakers take horror short, Kajutaijuq, to TIFF". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- "Canada's Top Ten Festival announces the best of 2014". Flickering Myth. 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- "Indigenous Filmmakers Highlighted For NCFD 15". National Canadian Film Day. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- "On April 19, National Canadian Film Day 150 brings films to Nunavut capital". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- "Award Recipients - Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA)". GGPAA. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
- "DOC CONFERENCE Documentary Meets Virtual Reality". www.tiff.net. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- Slingerland, Calum. "A Tribe Called Red "Indian City (ft. Black Bear)". Exclaim!. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- "2167: Indigenous artists to use virtual reality to imagine Canada's future". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
External links
- Nyla Innuksuk on IMDb
- Inngiruti: The Thing that Sings! available to view on the National Film Board of Canada website
- Mixtape VR website