Music

Tanya Tagaq threatens lawsuit against 'painful and racist' film of the North

by Jesse Locke

Quebec filmmaker Dominic Gagnon’s experimental documentary of the North could have been a fascinating and important project. According to Gagnon, the collage documentary stitches together “almost 500 hours of films posted on YouTube by hundreds of amateur Inuit filmmakers into a coherent form.” Unfortunately, its images of family life, hunting, jam sessions, snowmobile races, and industrial development have also drawn criticism for reinforcing hurtful stereotypes.

“Violent, wandering drunks that neglect their children and don’t care for the lives of animals: that’s the image I took away from the film,” said filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril in an interview with the CBC from her home in Iqaluit. “I think it’s kind of a cheap move to totally play up a negative stereotype of a marginalized people for your own artistic gain. [Gagnon has] never been north, he’s admitted that, and he’s got no stake in our communities, in our reputation.”

Musician Tanya Tagaq from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut has also aired her grievances. Alongside describing of the North as “painful and racist” she also said it used music from both herself and artist Kelly Fraser without permission. Threatening legal action, Tagaq said she was “deeply offended” and “disgusted” by the decision of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) to screen the film.

The festival responded to Tagaq’s criticisms, saying they have been in contact with Tagaq’s label Six Shooter Records along with the film’s distributor in regards to the use of her music. She has since stated that RIDM has pulled of the North from its roster, though the decision does not seem to be publicly announced at this time.

UPDATE: Tagaq’s music has also been removed from the film.