Iqaluit (Oct 30/06) - The National Film Board announced last week a plan that will see Nunavut artists put their work in motion.

The NFB, working in tandem with the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and the Aboriginal People's Television Network, has announced a plan to introduce animation programs and equipment to three Nunavut communities: Cape Dorset, Pangnirtung and Iqaluit.

NFB executive producer Derek Mazur said the Nunavut Animation Lab will see Inuit artists from around the territory broadcast their finished work nationally on APTN.

"We're going to select four people to actually produce and direct a short animated film each," he said during a conference call in Iqaluit last week.

In the next two weeks, the project will put out a call for interested artists and as many as 45 will be chosen between the three communities.

Workshops begin in January. Participants have until March to submit film proposals.

The four selected will be sent to The Banff Centre in Alberta so the artists can work in a "multi-discipline artistic environment."

Mazur said the completed films could be broadcast as early as the winter of 2007.

While only three communities are directly involved, Mazur said he hoped the program would spark interest in other regions, such as the Kivalliq.

An added benefit lies in the technology this program will provide.

Artists will have access to tools of the trade running the gamut from low-tech to high-tech, both during and after the workshops. "We'll work with the actual artists to decide what kind of systems they want to use," Mazur said.

Of course this gear isn't just a one-trick pony, Mazur added.

"There are lots of opportunities besides just animation. This equipment can be used for websites, for computer graphics..."

"(This program will) have Inuit equipped to take on new roles," said IBC president Okalik Eegeesiak. She said IBC members were excited to help the organization and artists "move past the local level." Mazur said the NFB has similar aims as the board celebrates 65 years of animation.

"It's a part of our mandate to let Canadians tell their stories to themselves and the world. It's going to be quite a successful program," Mazur predicted. "If it works we will repeat it."