'Nanook of the North' set for Jakarta<\/p>\n
By Gotot Prakosa<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Local moviegoers will have the chance to enjoy
\nethnographic film week from April 27 to April 29 at Lingkar
\nBudaya on Jl. Tanjung, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The cultural center screens selected films every month. This
\nweek, documentary films such as Nanook of the North, Spirit of
\nZen, Tana Toraja and The Slope of Tambora will be featured.<\/p>\n
Ethnographic films are about the life and culture of an ethnic
\ngroup. Watching these films is like reading a science book about
\nan ethnic group living in an isolated place. They show you how
\nthe people deal with nature to survive.<\/p>\n
Particularly fascinating is Nanook of the North made by Robert
\nJ. Flaherty in 1922. About the life of Inuit living at the North
\nPole, the film was the first highly popular ethnographic film. It
\nis considered a pioneer of documentary films.<\/p>\n
Over the course of time, documentary films have become
\nspecialized in subjects such as ethnography, anthropology,
\npropaganda, wildlife, community leaders, etc.<\/p>\n
The story behind the making of Nanook of the North, which will
\nbe screened on April 29 at 7 p.m., is itself a sensation. In
\n1910, at the age of 26, Flaherty followed in his father's
\nfootsteps to become an explorer.<\/p>\n
He obtained the funding from Sir William Mackenzie, who built
\nrailway tracks that connected western Canada and Hudson Bay, a
\nseaport and a gate to Europe. The railway project would allow
\nfaster transportation of goods from Europe to Canada.<\/p>\n
In 1913, as he prepared for his third trip to northern Canada,
\nMackenzie told Flaherty, \"You are going into interesting country,
\nstrange people, animals and all that? Why don't you include in
\nyour outfit a camera for making films?\"<\/p>\n
Flaherty loved the idea. He bought a light Bell & Howell
\ncamera and lighting and film processing equipment. He also took a
\nthree-week cinematography course in New York.<\/p>\n
He shot the life of the Inuit during his expedition from 1914
\nto 1915. It turned out that the filmmaking fascinated him more
\nthan the expedition.<\/p>\n
The results and responses were just as remarkable. The
\ndirector of the Ontario Museum of Archeology, CT Currelly,
\ndescribed the work as the most interesting recorded story about
\nthe Inuit.<\/p>\n
Despite all the favorable comments, Flaherty did not intend to
\nrelease the film to the public before he further edited it.<\/p>\n
As he was preparing to send his film to New York in 1916, he
\naccidentally dropped his cigarette and set the film on fire. The
\n30,000 feet of film was destroyed. The incident caused a large
\nfire accompanied by huge explosions. At the time, highly
\ninflammable nitrate was used in films. Flaherty was badly injured
\nand hospitalized for several weeks.<\/p>\n
The accident did not deter him. He decided to make another
\nfilm about the Inuit which was different from the lost one. So he
\napproached sponsors showing the remaining printouts of the
\nprevious film.<\/p>\n
But finding sponsorship was not easy as World War I was still
\nraging. After the war was over, he eventually got financial
\nassistance from a company called Revillon Freres. Flaherty
\nobtained US$500 in monthly salary, $13,000 for equipment and a
\nloan of $3,000 from Port Harrison for six months of shooting.<\/p>\n
For this film, he knew what he wanted to do and how to do it.
\nHe confined his filming to the Itivmuit tribe. He chose a man
\nnamed Nanook to become the central figure in his film. Nanook was
\nportrayed doing various activities: building an igloo, playing
\nthe gramophone and hunting for polar bears on his dog-drawn cart.<\/p>\n
Nanook of the North was ready for distribution in 1922.
\nParamount, the largest American film company at that time,
\nrefused it on the grounds that people were not interested in the
\nInuit and they would not go to the North Pole to see the Inuit
\nbecause the strange people wore overly thick coats.<\/p>\n
Pathe, a French film company, accepted the film for worldwide
\ndistribution. The premier at New York's Capitol Theater on June
\n11, 1922, was a success.<\/p>\n
The New York Times gave the film a positive review and so did
\nRobert E. Sherwood, who wrote that Nanook of the North was the
\npioneer of ethnographic films.<\/p>\n
The film became a blockbuster in the U.S. and enjoyed
\npopularity elsewhere in the world. The film that cost $53,000 to
\nmake became a huge moneymaker.<\/p>\n
Stunned by the success, Jesse Lasky of Paramount asked
\nFlaherty to make another ethnographic film like Nanook. Then the
\ncompany made films about the lives of tribespeople in the
\nPacific.<\/p>\n
When world filmmakers were gathered at an international film
\nfestival in Mannheim in 1964, they voted Nanook one of the best
\nfilms of all time. It deserved the honor.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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