Join Penn State Anthropology professor Kirk French for a screening of his new film “A Century After Nanook.” The documentary explores the lasting environmental and cultural impacts of the production of “Nanook of the North” in 1922, which is considered by many people to be the first documentary film ever. “Nanook” profiled the lives of the Inuit hunters at the time and brought worldwide attention and interest to the community in northern Quebec. French’s follow-up documentary reveals how the community has sought to maintain their culture in the face of numerous adversities, from the devastating effects of climate change on their icy landscape, to serious drug and alcohol issues among the population, to the lingering pain caused by decades of systematic abuse at the hands of the Canadian government.

The event will include a short introduction by French, a ceremonial lighting of the qulliq (a traditional Inuit oil lamp), Inuit throat singing, and a post-screening Q&A featuring five Inuit leaders from Inukjuak.

The screening will take place on Saturday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the State Theatre in downtown State College. The film is free to attend, however pre-registration is required at this link.

In addition to the screening, the Penn State Climate Consortium’s February Climate Conversations Café will host the visiting Inuit leaders for the talk, “Adapting to the New Arctic: A Conversation with Inuit Leaders from Inukjuak in Northern Quebec,” on Friday, Feb. 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hintz Family Alumni Center. The event is free and open to the public, but all attendees must register.