Piluk is flying high. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has scored a coveted competition slot at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival, where the animated short will make its world premiere in the festival’s Pardi di Domani section this August.
Co-created by Inuk artist Elisapie Isaac and multidisciplinary artist Marc Séguin, the 10-minute, 30-second film is one of the titles vying for honours in the section dedicated to emerging cinematic voices and world premieres. The festival runs from 5-15 August in Switzerland.
Piluk traces the coming-of-age journey of a young girl caught between memory and modernity, the tundra and the concrete jungle. Born from a feather, she must decide whether the winds of her origins can still be heard amid the noise of the city. Rooted in identity, belonging and cultural inheritance, the short blends Inuit oral tradition with striking hand-crafted animation using graphite, acrylic and pastel on textured paper.
The soundtrack, composed by Isaac, adds another layer to the film’s immersive sensory experience.
“For my people, telling stories is an act of transmission,” said writer-director and composer Elisapie Isaac. “I wanted to create a timeless legend, and working with Marc allowed us to bring together oral tradition, image and movement.”
Co-writer, co-director and artistic director Séguin said the project grew from a desire to explore a new artistic form while telling a story rooted in universal human emotion. “It was also about creating something with a friend,” he added.
NFB producer Jelena Popović said the collaboration demonstrates how animation can thrive alongside other artistic practices. “The partnership between two artists with complementary creative worlds, backed by an experienced animation team, has opened fresh cinematic territory,” she said.
The project marks the first animated collaboration between Isaac and Séguin, whose creative partnership stretches back more than a decade. Their earlier collaboration included Séguin’s feature Stealing Alice, in which Isaac appeared on screen.
