Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, directed by Zacharias Kunuk, is the first feature film ever written, directed, and performed entirely in Inuktitut, produced by Igloolik Isuma Productions. Screenwriter Paul Apak Angilirq spent five years interviewing seven elders to gather an ancient Inuit legend and shape it into a single screenplay. Made on a budget of roughly 1.9 million dollars, the film premiered at the 54th Cannes Film Festival in May 2001, winning the Caméra d'Or for best first feature. At the 22nd Genie Awards in 2002, it was nominated in seven categories and won six, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Music, and the Claude Jutra Award for best first feature director. The film was voted the greatest Canadian film of all time in a 2015 poll conducted by the Toronto International Film Festival. Who it's for: anyone curious about the first feature film ever made in a particular language, its script drawn from five years of interviews with elders, winner of a Cannes prize. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a short, fast paced film, since this runs two hours and fifty two minutes.