Uploaded by IsumaTV
The sets for Atanarjuat were all authentic Inuit dwellings, made from
traditional natural materials such as ice blocks, animal skins, rocks, sod, and
snow. Igloos, for instance, were crafted from real snow blocks - not styrofoam
as in some Southern productions about life in the Arctic!
The qaggiq is a large ceremonial igloo in which an entire Inuit community
can congregate for celebrations, ajaja singing, and drum dancing.
In the film, the tension-filled headpunch showdown between Oki
and Atanarjuat takes places in the qaggiq.
Like other aspects of the film, the sets represent thousands of years of
Arctic know-how and experience put into action. Visual proof that traditional
Inuit culture and skills are a living body knowledge.
Tents for the summer camp settings were made of sealskin. Long spiralled
narwhal tusks were used as tent poles, like the one Atanarjuat carries in his
pack while out caribou hunting. While filming on location in the Igloolik
region, cast and crew camped in dwellings and conditions very similar to those
of the characters in the film - living on the tundra just as their ancestors
had hundreds of years ago.