National Film Board of Canada
Available Light Film Festival (Feb 7-16)
Victoria Film Festival (Feb 7-16)
After debuting at Sundance Film Festival, the short film, Inkwo, is headed to the Victoria Film Festival! It’s a beautiful film by Amanda Strong who has nicely integrated some folk tales into a battle about humanity versus self, and also nature! There’s some mention of industry, but it’s only implied than openly said out loud.
Not only will this work mesmerise not only its technical achievement as a stop-motion animated piece but also in telling folks it’s okay to be gender-fluid. Although this is not the primary message, that’s what I first recognized. When Dove (voiced by Paulina Alexis) is introduced as female, I’ll stick to this pronoun. During her excursions outside, she must face various arctic dangers. While some encounters are real, it is the ones she must face about herself that’s the most telling.
When there are other representations regarding “consumption,” just what those images mean is important to take notice. As white man wants to raze the land in the quest for black gold, not everyone is happy about it.
Although I have not read Richard Van Camp‘s short story, “Wheetago war,” on which this short story is based, the monster’s relation to the classic Wendigo is easy to spot. The etymology from one spelling to the Tłı̨chǫ pronunciation isn’t too different. I just have to assume that is the creature when its silhouette is simply spot on! I identify those horns as oil wells. The juxtaposition is great since it’s easy to identify them as not only creatures from legend but also from industry.
In what makes this piece thoughtful lies in what this main character must confront. After losing who I assume is her dad in the opening moments to some underwater creature, she’s alone. Thankfully, her tribe is willing to help, and in what they preach, it’s to respect the environment.
As for talk regarding trans-humanism, but I think this theme isn’t as well played out as the other. Of the many interpretations of this short story, I focus on the one that affected me the most: humanity battling a far-off invading force. These humans can triumph, provided boundaries are upheld!
4 Stars out of 5
Inkwo Trailer
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