Centered on a confrontation between the last monster bear and an Inuit hunter, Giant Bear is a chilling short that brings an ancient story out of the North. In Giant Bear, we follow a hunter in the depths of starvation. The snow is thick, his dogs are mysteriously dying and food is nowhere to be found. A quest for answers leads him straight to a nanurluk, an iceberg-sized polar bear, setting up a “kill or be killed” battle that pits one man’s wits against a fearsome foe.
10 mins, 2D animation, Inuktitut w/ English subtitles
Credits:
Written by Neil Christopher
Based on the Inuit traditional story of “Nanurluk / The Giant Bear” shared by Jose Angutinngurniq
Directed by Neil Christopher and Daniel Gies
Produced by Monica Ittusardjuat, Neil Christopher, Daniel Gies, Emily Paige
Co-Produced with e→d films
Awards and Nominations:
Award Winner
- 2020 Canadian Screen Awards (Toronto, ON, Canada) – Winner of Best Animated Short
- 2019 Athens Animfest (Athens, Greece) – Audience Award Short
- 2019 Fantasia Film Festival (Montreal, QC, Canada) – Special Jury Mention for Short Film in Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation
- 2019 Dreamspeakers International Film Festival (Edmonton, AB, Canada) – Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- 2019 GIRAF Festival of Independent Animation (Calgary, AB, Canada) – Audience Choice: Best Canadian Short and Jury Award: Honourable Mention
Award Nominee
- 2019 Yorkton Film Festival (Yorkton, SK, Canada) – Nominated for Kathleen Shannon Award
- 2019 LA Skins Fest (Los Angeles, CA, USA) – Nominated for Achievement in Animation
Screening
- 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival (Annecy, France)
- 2019 Ottawa International Animation Festival (Ottawa, ON, Canada)
- 2019 Regard Saguenay International Short Film Festival (Chicoutimi, QC, Canada)
- 2019 Festival de Cinéma de la Ville de Québec (Quebec City, QC, Canada)
- 2019 GLAS Animation (Berkeley, CA, USA)
- 2019 Dawson City International Short Film Festival (Dawson City, YT, Canada)
- 2019 Imaginaria (Conversano, Italy)
- 2019 In the Palace International Short Film Festival (Burgas, Bulgaria)
- 2019 Gen Con Film Festival (Indianapolis, IN, USA)
- 2019 Anima Mundi (Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- 2019 Wiesbaden International Festival of Animation (Wiesbaden, Germany)
- 2019 FilmQuest Festival (Provo, UT, USA)
- 2019 Vox Popular Media Arts Festival (Thunder Bay, ON, Canada)
- 2019 Taichung International Animation Festival (Taichung, Taiwan)
- 2019 KuanDu International Animation Festival (Taipei, Taiwan)
- 2019 Nuuk International Film Festival (Nuuk, Greenland)
- 2019 Foyle Film Festival (Derry, United Kingdom)
- 2019 Sommets du cinéma d’animation (Montreal, QC, Canada)
- 2019 Sommets du cinéma d’animation screening at Canadian Cultural Center Paris (Paris, France)
- 2020 Māoriland Film Festival (Ōtaki, New Zealand)
- 2020 Underexposed Film Festival (Rock Hill, SC, USA)
- 2020 Weengushk International Film Festival (M’Chigeeng, ON, Canada)
- 2020 Hiroshima International Animation Festival (Hiroshima, Japan) – Best of the World Announcement (no official screening)