Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 06/98) - It's time to count down the days until the third annual Far North Film Festival, with its selection of the very best and current North of 60 films ready to roll.

Volunteer co-ordinator Charles Laird promises a combination of great cinematography and great stories, with a taste of something for everyone.

Kicking off the festival on Friday, Nov. 13 is The Herd, a film by Peter Lynch, producer of the award-winning Project Grizzly. The Herd has previously appeared at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival, garnering rave reviews

Laird is pleased to be presenting this National Film Board submission.

"We're off the beaten track," Laird says. "For the NFB to recognize this festival enough to submit a film is a good first step to gain recognition."

More recognition means more submissions by filmmakers from around the world who make films about the North and, as a result, the festival can offer a more varied program, explains Laird.

This year's emcee will be former Yellowknife resident Whit Fraser, a television and radio reporter who spent 25 years covering the North for CBC.

Here's a quick look at some of the film festival offerings.

Amorak's Song
Produced by Words of Pictures

This film tells the story of an Inuit family who were Canada's last nomads, and their wrenching journey from an independent existence on the tundra to a life of great stress on the margins of white society.

The voices are those of the family members -- three distinct generations -- who have played an active role in making the film. This is their own account of the dramatic transformation of life in the Arctic, leading up to the creation of the Inuit homeland, Nunavut.

What is Maktuuk? And why do I crave it?
Produced, Written and Directed by Dana Mumford

Forget the romantic fiction of "Nanook of the North." This is a true story of an Inuit man who was adopted by an non-Inuit family. As a baby he was taken out of the North and, against all odds, he survives in the harsh isolation of the South.

A deeply personal story told by student filmmaker, Dana Mumford. This portrait of her brother, Brian, is a touching account of a family reckoning with racial and cultural difference, geographic isolation and AIDS.

Okimah
Produced by the National Film Board

It's fall in Moose Factory, northern Ontario, and the town is filled with excitement. Children prepare for a week off school while their parents get ready for the most important event of the season. The annual goose hunt is a Cree tradition stretching back for centuries.

This year, filmmaker Richard Rickard carries more than a rifle when he joins his family for the hunt -- he takes along a film crew. His father is an Okimah, one of the leaders of the hunt. Through Okimah like him, Cree culture, skills and ethics are passed on from one generation to the next.