Nutaaq Média, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 with the goal of producing both independent and sponsored film, video and interactive media projects.
Although most of Nutaaq productions concern the Arctic or northern issues, Nutaaq has also shot many projects in southern Canada, as well as one project in South America. Our multi-cultural experience is indeed one of our great strengths.
Nutaaq Média represents many years of production experience which allow it to create broadcast programming intended for a mass audience or sponsored projects tailored to a specific few.
Working with a team of talented professionals and state of the art facilities for digital non-linear editing and multi-media authoring, Nutaaq Média produces effective multi-media, sponsored or broadcast programming tailored to client and audience needs in whichever languages are required. In the past, Nutaaq has produced programs in French, English, Inuktitut and Cree, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, German and Italian. Nutaaq can also title and sub-title programs in any language. We also do closed captioning.
George Hargrave
Producer/Director/President of Nutaaq Media, Inc.
George Hargrave, has been an independent producer and director for over 18 years. He has a masters degree in communications from Concordia University where his field of interest was the use of interactive media to teach television production techniques.
In 1991, he produced Endurance of the spirit: The Two Worlds of Laurie Dexter,
a 26 min. film for CBC's Man Alive series about NWT marathon runner, triathlete, polar adventurer and Anglican Minister Laurie Dexter and Running the Midnight Sun, a one-hour documentary for television about the world's most northerly Marathon race in Nanisivik on Baffin Island.
He also produced a TV documentary about a strange northern event. This production, Invasion of the Beer People, made for CBC Newsworld about a heavy metal rock concert in Tuktoyuktuk, NWT, was directed by Albert Nerenberg and broadcast in January, 1996.
The same year, he produced and CO-directed, The Disappearing Forests of Eeyou Astchee, a 46 minute documentary about forestry and the Cree of Northern Quebec for the Grand Council of the Cree of Quebec.
In February 1997, George completed the production of Tabala: Rhythms in the Wind, a television documentary by writer-director Erica Pomerance about the impact of black music in Quebec. This will be shown on Vision TV, CFCF, the Knowledge Network, SCN, and TV5.
He is also producer on Picturing a people: George Johnston, Tlingit Photographer, a documentary CO-production with the NFB. Directed by Carol Geddes, this documentary chronicles one of Canada's first native photographers. For Broadcast on TVO, Bravo, SCN, Knowledge Network, CFCF and TVNC.
In 1984 he produced Broken Promises: The High Arctic Relocation, in CO-production with the NFB. It was sold to Radio Canada, CFCF, ATV, SCN, the BC Knowledge Network, CKCO, CKY, CFCN, CFRN, Vision TV and Television Northern Canada.
He also produced Radio Novelas, a documentary about community radio in native communities. It was shown on TVNC in northern Canada and will be broadcast in the south by CFCF and TV5.
He went to the North Pole in 1987 as CO-director and CO-producer of North to Nowhere: Quest for the Pole, a 1988 documentary film about the 5 arctic expeditions which went to the Pole that year. This film won 3 Gemini Awards in Canada and has been seen by audiences in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Australia.
He also directed Nutaaq's first CD-ROM project which put over 1,000 photographs and related information onto a single CD-ROM disc. The Nunavik Heritage CD-ROM was produced for Kativik School Board and the Avataq Cultural Institute.
"Welcome to Nunavut" is a delightfully frank and often funny film that reflects the inherent drama and conflicts of key people, who are all furiously working towards this one in history- each with their own purpose, each intent on making history in their own way.
He also produced and directed 3 films for the Fur Council of Canada,
one of which was versioned in 7 languages.
Paul Rickard
Cameraman/Director/Producer
Paul Rickard is an Omushkego Cree from Moose Factory in Northern Ontario. He studied radio and television production at University of Western Ontario before joining the Wawatay Native Communications Society as a television producer. At Wawatay, he shot, edited and produced a biweekly public affairs television show for 4 years.
He also created, shot, produced and edited a weekly show for young people called Video Awashishak. . In 1995, he went south to work at the National Film Board in Montreal. Rickard has been a cinematographer on a number of NFB productions, including Multiple Choices, First Nation Blue, Fennario: His World on Stage and No Turning Back.
He worked on a number of independent documentaries, as well as producing the CBC North series Maamuitauui. In 1996, he shot and directed Ayouwin:Ways of Life, a documentary about his father, a trapper in Moose Factory , This was shown on TV Ontario. In 1997, he directed Challenge Yourself: Choices For a Better Future, a video about alternatives to drugs. This video produced for the Cree Health board. Aimed at native youth. That same year he directed Okimah for the National film Board, this film is about the importance of the annual Goose hunt to Cree culture. It has been released in 35mm and was recently premiered at the Vancouver Film Festival.
Janice Benthin
Writer/Producer
Janice Benthin is a writer/producer with a diverse background in all aspects of the media, as well as media education. Most recently she was Training Director for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, located in Iqaluit. This was a position she held for four years.
During that time she instituted training programs with the producers of North of 60, the University of Calgary New Media Centre and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Janice also arranged IBC co-productions and apprenticeships with several international independent producers and production companies including Faustfilm in Germany and Ragdoll Productions in the U.K. Canadian independent production partners include Nutaaq Media, Martin Kreelak, Linda Tucktoo and Ole Gjerstad (Secret Stories, Amarok's Song, Amarok Series in Inuktitut)
She also worked as Interim Executive Director for the International Centre of Films for Children and Young People (CIFEJ). Her work with CIFEJ included production of the award-winning documentary Secret Stories (Prix Juenesse International 1996, OCIC Fourth World Video and Multi-media Forum Jury Prize, Hot Docs best documentary for youth). Secret Stories is a documentary that arose from the Teen Video Stories project. Janice was the video-maker for two of the workshops for teens at risk. She worked with Inuit teens in Taloyoak and with Kalinga teens in the remote mountains of the Phillipines.
Before that Janice was field producer for Street Cents, Entertainment Tonight and Extra in Calgary. There she was also production manager for national commercials shot in southern Alberta. While in Calgary she produced the award-winning drama The Three of Us One Summer adapted from a script by Clem Martini.
Janice was the creator of the popular and innovative pre-teen television series After School. This program won the Access In-School Innovative Television Contest in 1980, and was latter sponsored by Superchannel in Saskatchewan where it won the Saskatchewan Film and Video Showcase award for best children's program in 1989. Altogether this series ran five days a week for a total of 7 years in both provinces.
Janice is currently working with Nutaaq Media in Montreal.
