Plot

A documentary written from the Inuit perspective on the oddities of Qallunaat (the Inuit word for white people). A mix of satire, comedy and indigenous facts on everything from why white people are obsessed with owning things to their odd dating habits.—Red Haircrow

This film lends viewers outside of this Indigenous Alaskan community a unique perspective that is appreciated on an entirely different level as a Lakota (Sicangu) person. Themes of: Indigenous ways of knowing the world, humor, traditional practices and intelligences, and the overall interpretation of "Qallunaat" behavior (such as during arctic voyages) requires all Qallunaat's (non-Natives especially) to abandon their world view for just under an hour to fully appreciate the use of farce and absurdities in this funny film.—lynnecolombe

This documentary pokes fun at the ways in which Inuit people have been treated as exotic documentary subjects by turning the lens onto the strange behaviours of Qallunaat (the Inuit word for white people). The term refers less to skin colour than to a certain state of mind: Qallunaat greet each other with inane salutations, repress natural bodily functions, complain about being cold, and want to dominate the world. Their odd dating habits, unsuccessful attempts at Arctic exploration, overbearing bureaucrats and police, and obsession with owning property are curious indeed.

A collaboration between filmmaker Mark Sandiford and Inuit writer and satirist Zebedee Nungak, Qallunaat! brings the documentary form to an unexpected place in which oppression, history, and comedy collide.--National Film Board of Canada