PRESS RELEASES – PAGE 2

CANADIAN IMAGES HIGHLIGHTS: MILE ZERO AND ATANARJUAT (THE FAST RUNNER)
Monday, August 27, 2001

Canadian Images programmer, Diane Burgess, announced two highlights of the Canadian Images program, the opening night film and a special presentation. The program will open on Saturday, September 29th with a screening of Andrew Currie's MILE ZERO. Currie's striking feature film debut asks the question, "Is it possible for someone to love too much?" Derek Ridley (Michael Riley) puts this idea to the test when he kidnaps his son and sets in motion a desperate plan to reunite his family. "With this deftly layered and suspenseful drama, Andrew Currie stands out as a local filmmaker to watch," Burgess said. Currie is a past winner of the Telefilm Canada award for Best Director for his short film NIGHT OF THE LIVING (VIFF 97).

The winner of the Caméra d'Or for Best First Feature at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival, Zacharias Kunuk's ATANARJUAT (THE FAST RUNNER) will screen as a Special Presentation on Friday, September 28th. Citing the film as a significant contribution to Canadian cinema, Burgess said, "Kunuk and his creative team have crafted a richly textured epic that is both visually stunning and immensely engaging." With painstaking attention to historical details and Inuit storytelling traditions, Paul Apk Angilirq's screenplay is the world's first to be written in Inuktitut.

Digitally shot entirely on location on the sea-ice and tundra around Igloolik, Nunavut, ATANARJUAT (THE FAST RUNNER) brings an ancient Inuit legend to screen. Evil in the form of an unknown shaman divides a small community of nomadic Inuit, upsetting its balance and spirit of cooperation. Twenty years later, two brothers Amaqjuaq (The Strong One) and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) find themselves caught up within this cycle of vengeance, when Atanarjuat wins the hand of lovely Atuat away from the boastful son of the camp leader. Director Kunuk and director of photography Norman Cohn will be in attendance.

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