Montreal filmmaker Isaac and artist Séguin's Piluk selected for Locarno Film Festival competition
The animated short about an Inuit girl leaving the tundra for the city will premiere at the Swiss festival in August, produced by the National Film Board.
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Elisapie Isaac, an Inuit filmmaker and singer-songwriter, and artist Marc Séguin have had their animated short Piluk selected in competition at the International Film Festival of Locarno in Switzerland.
The film explores themes of identity and connection to territory, following a young girl named Piluk as she leaves the tundra for the city. Isaac, known as a musician and composer, created the soundtrack. The animation was produced using traditional techniques: pencil graphite, acrylic, and pastel on textured paper.
The National Film Board produced the work. Isaac reflected on the collaboration: "At home, storytelling is an act of transmission. This oral tradition, which blends myth and daily life, is the vital breath of Inuit art. In turn, I wanted to create a timeless legend by working with Marc, a special artist for whom storytelling is instinctive."
Seguin added: "For me it was the desire to 'say,' through art and its evocative power, universal human feelings. The starting point was the desire to try a new artistic practice and to work with a friend."
Piluk is selected in the "Pardi di Domani" category, a competition for short and medium-length films representing voices of the future. The film will have its world premiere at the festival, running August 5–15.
