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Nanook of the North

1922 · TMDB 7.1

Directed by Robert Flaherty

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Why it matters

Robert Flaherty's pioneering documentary follows an Inuit family's struggle for survival in the Arctic, capturing a life in which humans and animals are bound together.

From Wild Hearts: Feral Children and the Call of the Wild

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