Arnait Video Productions, a well-known women’s film collective in Igloolik, Nunavut, is winding down its work after more than 30 years of sharing local stories. The group published a farewell message on its official website, marking the end of a project that began in 1991 to give Inuit women a voice in media.
The decision to close was announced amid the collective’s three-decade run and following the passing of Susan Avingaq, a co‑founder and elder who was a key creative leader for the team. Avingaq, who died in 2024, has been widely described in profiles and retrospectives as a storyteller, costume designer and teacher of traditional sewing skills; her cultural knowledge helped the group create realistic films about life in the North.
Over three decades, the collective produced award‑winning movies such as the 2008 drama Before Tomorrow and the 2014 documentary Sol, which examined the death of Igloolik artist Solomon Uyarasuk and wider concerns about suicide in the North. Arnait’s work often focused on everyday activities — sewing, child‑rearing and other domestic practices — providing a perspective frequently missing from other regional films.
While the group will no longer produce new films, its filmography and archives will remain accessible to the public. Residents and viewers can watch Arnait’s past work through digital archives on IsumaTV and through distribution via Vtape; some of the collective’s legacy materials are also being catalogued and digitized to support long‑term preservation.
