Festival apologizes for Of The North
Chairperson says she 'recognizes it was wrong' to present film
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, November 21, 2016
MONTREAL
A year after screening a film titled Of The North -despite widespread Inuit opposition - the festival chair has apologized.
"After a process of reflection, after listening, discussing and consulting with many people, including Inuit and members of First Nations, the RIDM recognizes that it was wrong to present the film Of The North in 2015," according to a Nov. 17 statement signed by Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) chairperson Sarah Spring, two current and one former staff. "The RIDM officially apologizes for its mistake, and for its initial response to the criticism it received."
The work by Dominic Gagnon was a collage of publicly available film clips from platforms such as YouTube, depicting footage of Northern scenery and industrial machinery, and scenes of drunkenness, vomiting and violence involving Inuit. Among others who decried the collection of clips was renowned Inuk vocalist Tanya Tagaq, whose music was used by Gagnon without her permission.
"@RIDM chose to show a painful and racist film that uses my music without consent. I did not give permission to the filmmaker," Tagaq said via Twitter.
Inuk documentary filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril was also outspoken about the collage of clips.
"@RIDM Rejecting a film that entrenches tired old racist stereotypes is not 'censorship', it's good taste."
At the time, the film festival stood its ground and defended itself.
"Far from seeing Of The North as a racist work, it was programmed as a critical discourse on colonialism and its still devastating impacts, through a montage of images recorded and uploaded to YouTube by Inuit peoples. We believe that this film confronts stereotypes that have afflicted Inuit peoples," it stated.
The festival's apology came following a public discussion it hosted last week, titled Indigenous Videographers Shoot Back.
"The panel of Mohawk, Ojibwa, Abenaki and Inuit filmmakers, journalists and academics were unanimous in condemning both the film and the RIDM's decision to include it in the festival," stated the festival.
The festival further apologized for presenting "a film with a colonial perspective that perpetuates racist stereotypes."
