Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
Inuktitut	ᐊᑕᓈᕐᔪᐊᑦ
Directed by	Zacharias Kunuk
Written by	Paul Apak Angilirq
Produced by	Paul Apak Angilirq Norman Cohn Zacharias Kunuk Germaine Wong
Starring	Natar Ungalaaq Sylvia Ivalu Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq Lucy Tulugarjuk
Cinematography	Norman Cohn
Edited by	Norman Cohn Zacharias Kunuk Marie-Christine Sarda
Music by	Chris Crilly
Distributed by	Odeon Films
Release dates	13 May 2001 (2001-05-13) (Cannes premiere) 12 April 2002 (2002-04-12) (Canada)
Running time	172 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	Inuktitut
Budget	CA$1,960,000 (est.)
Box office	$5,998,310

This article contains Canadian Aboriginal syllabic characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of syllabics.

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (Inuktitut: ᐊᑕᓈᕐᔪᐊᑦ) is a 2001 Canadian epic film directed by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and produced by his company Isuma Igloolik Productions. It was the first feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.

Set in the ancient past, the film retells an Inuit legend passed down through centuries of oral tradition. It revolves around the title character, whose marriage with his two wives earns him the animosity of the son of the band leader, who kills Atanarjuat's brother and forces Atanarjuat to flee by foot.

The film premiered at the 54th Cannes Film Festival in May 2001, and was released in Canada on 12 April 2002. A major critical success, Atanarjuat won the Caméra d'Or (Golden Camera) at Cannes, and six Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture. Atanarjuat was also a commercial success, becoming Canada's top-grossing release of 2002, outperforming the mainstream comedy Men with Brooms. It grossed more than US$5 million worldwide. In 2015, a poll of filmmakers and critics in the Toronto International Film Festival named it the greatest Canadian film of all time. It also topped the CBC's 2023 list of The 50 Greatest Films Directed by Canadians.^[1]