Nanook, Nyla, Cunayou, Comock – an Inuit family living in the Hudson Bay area of Canada. This in itself is a dramatic starting point. The climate is harsh, and the question of daily survival their main concern. The subtitle A STORY OF LIFE AND LOVE IN THE ACTUAL ARCTIC conveys much of what filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty wanted to communicate with this film. With great sympathy he tells a gripping story about the people, their lives, about love. The film was an enormous success in movie theaters all over the world when it opened in 1922.

Still, there more reasons that NANOOK has become a classic. Flaherty wished to say something about reality, which in fact is and was quite problematic, and it lead to an important debate on the relationship between fiction and reality that has continued until this day. The magnificent, austere landscape of snow and ice, combined with great camera work (groundbreaking at the time), makes NANOOK a beautiful film experience. Seeing this film on a snow screen, outdoors on the main square in Tromsø, accompanied live by Matti Bye’s magic music newly composed for this occasion, will an unforgettable experience.

The composer:

Matti Bye (b. 1966) has been composing and performing music for theater, film, radio, and cabaret for many years. He has composed new music for many Swedish and international classic films from the Silent Era, as well as performing himself, both for the Cinematheque in Stockholm and for international festivals, among others Silent Film Days in Tromsø.