At the Copenhagen premiere of the new documentary SA国际影视传媒淭wice ColonizedSA国际影视传媒� in March, a young Greenlandic woman stood up in the audience and offered Aaju Peter SA国际影视传媒渁 beautiful moment of realization.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淪he said that it was the first time she had seen an image of herself being portrayed on a big screen,SA国际影视传媒� Peter, a renowned Inuk activist, lawyer and the filmSA国际影视传媒檚 main subject, said in a video interview.
SA国际影视传媒淭hat meant so much to me because we need to tell our story, not only the good side but also show that you can go through hardships and learn to deal with it.SA国际影视传媒�
The experience further underlined why the 63-year-old born in Arkisserniaq, a village in the north of Kalaallit Nunaat SA国际影视传媒� also known as Greenland SA国际影视传媒� agreed to be in front of Danish filmmaker Lin AllunaSA国际影视传媒檚 lens. Peter is also one of the filmSA国际影视传媒檚 executive producers and writers.
SA国际影视传媒淭wice Colonized,SA国际影视传媒� which opened TorontoSA国际影视传媒檚 2023 Hot Docs film festival, centres on Peter, who has been an ardent defender of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Denmark, Greenland and Canada.
Alluna shadowed Peter over the course of seven years, capturing her liberation from personal traumas and anger SA国际影视传媒� including her forced assimilation and the unexpected death of her youngest son SA国际影视传媒� and her pursuits to establish an Indigenous forum at the European Union.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 scary to just have somebody film you for all those years because they capture everything,SA国际影视传媒� said Peter. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a scary process to be so vulnerable and trusting, but I think Inuit are very trusting people and we believe the best in people SA国际影视传媒� they took that trust to portray both sides of my story.SA国际影视传媒�
After her parents sent her to Denmark to attend high school and live alone, as was the custom at the time, Peter said she was ultimately surrounded by those who didnSA国际影视传媒檛 care about or understand her culture as she moved from one place to the next.
SA国际影视传媒淲hen you try to whiten-ize little Inuit, you separate them from their parentsSA国际影视传媒ou separate them from their peers,SA国际影视传媒� she says in SA国际影视传媒淭wice Colonized.SA国际影视传媒�
ItSA国际影视传媒檚 a documentary that covers the highs and lows of her journey as a campaigner, activist, and lawyer who often worked as an adviser for both the United Nations and the European Union SA国际影视传媒� a task motivated by a familiar feeling of having oneSA国际影视传媒檚 identity stripped away.
SA国际影视传媒淲hen I would go to the European Parliament to protest their anti-sealing legislation and how wrong they were, I was all by myself and felt so aloneSA国际影视传媒o tiny and minuscule,SA国际影视传媒� said Peter, who currently resides in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.
SA国际影视传媒淚 felt like a fly on the wall to themSA国际影视传媒hey are legislating our culture, our economy, and our society through the backdoor and they are all the way in Europe, so I know how important it has been to have Indigenous Peoples represented in the European Union so we can have a collective voice.SA国际影视传媒�
Peter said she prefers to marry the issues she tackles before courts or legislative bodies with her own life trials to illustrate that she isnSA国际影视传媒檛 a SA国际影视传媒�100-year-old romanticized vision of an Inuit survivor.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒擝y Noel Ransome, The Canadian Press
