The title Twice Colonized applies to Aaju literally, as she was born and raised in Inuit Greenland (a Danish colony), then moved to an Inuit community in Canada where she has lived for decades. The documentary succeeds as both a story of activism and a character study of survival, resilience and keeping strong with your Native self. Aaju is tenacious as she goes through an emotional rollercoaster on two continents, refusing to be colonized, working to create an Indigenous forum at the European Union, all while grieving the death of a son and finding her way out of an abusive relationship. It is, as Dillon Gonzales writes, “a good balance of larger social justice with personal turmoil”.

During Sundance, our Indigenous Editor Leo Koziol sat down with the film’s team to learn more about the genesis of the story, and how the team built trust and connection. 

Alethea, I just want to say I’m a big fan of your work.
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril: Thank you.

I’ve never had the opportunity to meet you and talk about Angry Inuk, so this is wonderful. I’m a huge fan of your short film that was made with imagineNATIVE back in the days, Aviliaq. I think, of course, we all know that Aaju was a big part of the Angry Inuk movie. Have things changed since Angry Inuk? It was so controversial at the time.
Alethea: I’ll say yes and no. Yes, in Canada, I think there’s been a huge shift in awareness from non-native Canadians about Inuit living in modern day generally. But also about sealskin and how important it is to our communities that seals are food for us. That all the seals we hunt and use the skin of are also eaten. That’s really changed in Canada.

I do feel a little disappointed at how much the film was able to penetrate in the US and in Europe. It didn’t have the reach that I had hoped it would have there. I mean, the film has done very well critically. It’s won awards all over the world, but in terms of numbers of viewers in the markets that really affect our sealskin market, it didn’t have the impact that I had hoped it would.

But this new film, Twice Colonized, really addresses some of the structural issues that we came up against in that fight. Aaju has continued that work and she’s now attacking the structure and proposing changes to it that, if those changes had already been made, it would’ve made a huge difference when we were doing Angry Inuk. She’s always continued to lobby for Indigenous hunting rights and food security. That’s never stopped.

As a filmmaker, you want your subject to forget that you’re there and just let them exist and go about their day. Lin has done [that] really beautifully and [that’s something] I was never able to do. I think part of the reason for that was because when Aaju has Inuit around her, I think in some ways, she feels like she’s got to be the icon, the role model. With Lin, they just developed this really intimate relationship where Lin could be a fly on the wall.

Lin is also just really good at blending into the furniture and you forget she’s there. The first time I met her, she was just filming with Aaju. I invited Aaju over for dinner and then she just brought the young woman and a camera along that I wasn’t expecting. I was like, “Oh, okay, I guess that’s happening.” And then I immediately forgot the camera was rolling.

It speaks to Lin’s skill as a director, a documentary filmmaker, but I think it also had a lot to do with her being a young Danish woman. Aaju’s not so worried about being a role model to the colonizer. You know what I mean? Now we know and love Lin and she’s a good friend. But at the time, I didn’t know her from a hole in the ground and neither Aaju nor I really cared what she thought of us.

Now that I know her, I do care. But at the time, I thought Aaju should have a film about her. But I also thought, “Am I really going to support a film being directed by a white woman? I don’t know how I feel about this.” But then again, I saw the footage and Emile being involved was a huge factor for me that another Inuk was producing.

I also hesitated because I thought, “My God, how many films have I made with Aaju now? I’m just building a career off making films with Aaju involved.” We did a tattoo documentary together, where she helped me interview elders to research our tattoo history. She was a subject in Arctic Defenders, which is a film about arctic sovereignty, and Angry Inuk, which she was a huge main subject of, and now Twice Colonized.

I feel a little embarrassed, like I’m a one-hit wonder or something. But this is a very different film from all of those. It’s so beautiful and so personal. It’s the side of Aaju I’ve always seen and wish the world could see. And now finally, they’re going to get to see that.

Alethea, it’s almost like a paradigm shift? How much does Indigeneity come into it in terms of decolonizing the screen?
Alethea: Lin is obviously not Inuk, but she worked very well within an Inuk-style team. In our communities, leadership traditionally is fluid and context dependent. Whatever the task is at hand, whoever has the most experience or knowledge in that area is the one who steps forward to lead in that moment. When people do see the film, they will understand why this was such a delicate, sensitive situation at times. Where we needed to not just tell an enthralling story, but make sure that people were safe and that we care for the well-being of everyone involved, including the director and the producers. On top of, first and foremost, always [was] the subject and her family.

There were a lot of conversations about how to do things in a kind way, in a generous way, in a responsible way, and that we’re all going to have to live with this film for many, many years to come. We want to be proud of it, that it’s doing good in the world and that it’s not at anybody’s expense.

What is your biggest wish for 2023 for the film industry?
Alethea: Such a great question. A number of years ago when the #MeToo movement happened, I remember thinking immediately, “We need to have that, but for race issues as well in the industry, just a reckoning.” And not that anything’s done, but I do feel like that conversation has really begun in the last few years.

I used to wish for Native cinema to explode on the world stage, but I feel like that’s happening. It’s just really exciting. I hope that it’s not just a moment. A few years ago, Danis Goulet, the amazing filmmaker, talked about how there was a first wave of Indigenous filmmakers that hit the world stage and made a big splash. But then there was a huge lull for a long period of time. She hopes [now] this time it’s real. So I guess I’ll just echo her statement that I hope it’s real and it sticks around.

All power to what you just said. Emile?
Emile: I work with ARTEF, which is the Anti-Racism Taskforce for European Film, and there’s just so many things in the funding systems all over the place that really are still lagging very much behind in terms, to compare with what’s actually being created by the artists. I hope that that system will keep up a little bit better.