The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
DVD cover
Directed by	Zacharias Kunuk Norman Cohn
Written by	Eugene Ipkarnak Madeline Ivalu Herve Paniaq Pauloosie Qulitalik Lucy Tulugarjuk Abraham Ulayuruluk Louis Uttak
Produced by	Lucius Barre Norman Cohn Zacharias Kunuk Elise Lund Larsen Stephane Rituit Vibeke Vogel
Starring	Natar Ungalaaq Pierre Lebeau Leah Angutimarik Jens Jørn Spottag Neeve Irngaut
Cinematography	Norman Cohn
Edited by	Cathrine Ambus Norman Cohn Félix Lajeunesse
Music by	Richard Lavoie
Distributed by	Alliance Atlantis SF Film
Release dates	March 11, 2006 (Igloolik screening) September 7, 2006 (TIFF) October 8, 2006 (USA) November 10, 2006 (Denmark)
Running time	112 minutes
Countries	Canada Denmark
Languages	Inuktitut Danish English
Budget	$6,300,000 (estimated)

The Journals of Knud Rasmussen is a 2006 Canadian-Danish film directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn.^[1] The film is about the pressures on traditional Inuit shamanistic beliefs as documented by Knud Rasmussen during his travels across the Canadian Arctic in the 1920s.^[2]

Produced by Isuma, the film premiered on September 7, 2006 as the opening film of the Toronto International Film Festival,^[3] after pre-release screenings in Inuit communities in Canada and Greenland.

Synopsis

Set primarily in and around Igloolik in 1922, the film depicts the encounter between a group of Inuit in Arctic Canada led by one of the last shamans of the Canadian Inuit, Aua, and three Danish ethnographers and explorers, Knud Rasmussen, Therkel Mathiassen and Peter Freuchen during the latter's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. The shaman and his entourage must ultimately decide whether to join the ranks of another group of Inuit who have converted to Christianity.

Awards

Michelline Amaaq received a Genie Award nomination for Best Costume Design at the 27th Genie Awards in 2007.^[4]

The film was a nominee for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2006,^[5] and was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2006.^[6]