Nivi has always known that her names were special, but she does not know where they came from. So, one cold afternoon, Nivi decides to ask her mom. The stories of the people Nivi is named after lead her to an understanding of traditional Inuit kinship naming practices, tuqlurausiit, and knowledge of what those practices mean to Inuit. Through her names, Nivi is a little girl, a grandfather, a grandmother, and a well-respected elder. Nivi’s names connect her to the personality and character of those who have passed and make her family so much bigger than she thought before.

7 mins, 2D animation, Inuktitut & English

 

Credits:

Written by Laura Deal

Directed by Laura Deal

Produced by Neil Christopher and Monica Ittusardjuat

 

Awards and Nominations:

Award Nominee 

• 2019 American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco, CA, USA) – Best Animation

Screening 

• 2019 Vox Popular Media Arts Festival (Thunder Bay, ON, Canada)
• 2019 Gig Harbor Film Festival (Gig Harbor, WA, USA)
• 2019 FIN Kids Festival Tour (Atlantic Canada)
• 2019 Nuuk International Film Festival (Nuuk, Greenland)
• 2020 Māoriland Film Festival (Ōtaki, New Zealand)
• 2020 Children’s Film Festival Seattle (Seattle, WA, USA)
• 2020 Bellingham Children’s Film Festival (Bellingham, WA, USA)
• 2020 Underexposed Film Festival (Rock Hill, SC, USA)
• 2020 Native Spirit Film Festival (London, UK)