Nigiqtuq by Lindsay McIntyre-How an Inuk Grandmother Left the Arctic

Lindsay McIntyre’s presents Oscar® qualified NIGIQTUQ. She shares the true story of her Inuk grandmother’s tragic departure from the Arctic in the 30’s

Los Angeles, CA (month day, 2025). In 1938, having left her Nunavut home with her mother Kumaa’naaq (koo-MAT-na). Young Marguerite must come to terms with her new life in the South and the unstated responsibilities that await her. When an extraordinary letter arrives from home, Marguerite discovers what’s really expected of her.

Based on the director’s grandmother’s story. Lindsay McIntyre’s phenomenal NIGIQTUQ ᓂᒋᖅᑐᖅ (The South Wind) explores the historic tribulations. That are suffered by one Inuit family. And, the lives they subsequently lead. The drama won “Best Short Live Action Film” at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. Thereby qualifying it for the 2025 Oscars®.

Logline: Young Marguerite and her mother Kumaa’naaq must negotiate the unspoken pressures of a new life in the South after leaving their Inuit community in Nunavut in 1938. 

Director Lindsay McIntyre is an award-winning filmmaker of Inuit and mixed settler descent. She works primarily with analogue film exploring place-based knowledge, portraiture, and personal histories. Lindsay employs process cinema techniques, material and celluloid manipulation. She explores handmade emulsions to her autoethnographic explorations, which often extend to expanded cinema performances.

The Official Trailer for NIGIQTUQ Directed by Lindsay McIntyre

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Having made over 40 short films over the past 20 years. She is currently developing her first feature The Words We Can’t Speak. Which won the coveted Women in the Director’s Chair Feature Film Award (worth $250K). And is connected to the award-winning short NIGIQTUQ ᓂᒋᖅᑐᖅ (The South Wind). She is a Fellow of the Sundance Institute (2024), Forge Projects (2024) and Cousin Collective (2021). Linsay is a member of several artist-run film labs including Double Negative, IRIS, and an international consortium of emulsioneers. She is an Associate Professor of Film + Screen Arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Which is on unceded Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, Canada.

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Katrina Beatty is a Producer based out of Edmonton, Alberta. Iconic actor Bruce Dern describes her by as “a one-woman studio – never seen anything like it”. Katrina has created music videos for Juno Award winning band Whitehorse (Pink Kimono, Boys Like You). Also for CMA Award winning country artist Gord Bamford (Livin’ on Summertime). Her production company Loud Whisper Productions produced the Telefilm funded feature film Before I Change My Mind by Trevor Anderson. Which has won numerous awards for Best Acting (Locarno, Cardiff), Best Cinematography (AMPIA). Also Audience Choice (Rainbow Visions) and is in the top 10 GLAAD List Scripts by Sundance.

This beautiful short has qualified for the 2025 Oscars®. After winning “Best Short Live Action Film” at imagineNATIVE. It has picked up many other accolades for stunning performances, unique cinematography and production design.

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