Nyla Innuksuk's 'In the Heart of the South' Premieres at Toronto International Film Festival
On September 10, Nyla Innuksuk's feature film In the Heart of the South debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, followed by a second showing on September 18. The film features Anna Lambe as Yura, an Inuk artist who develops virtual reality projects, including one focused on a residential school. Yura's journey takes a turn when her friend Sesi (Zorga Qaunaq) reenters her life, forcing her to confront her past and the direction of her screenplay. The film critiques the art industry's performative wokeness, illustrating Yura's struggle with marketing language and the concerns of white progressives. She proposes a horror-revenge thriller to a woman-led production company and Canada’s national film board. Innuksuk previously directed 2022's Slash/Back and created VR works on Indigenous themes. Lambe and Qaunaq also star in North of North.
Key facts
- In the Heart of the South premiered on 10 September at the Toronto International Film Festival and screens again on 18 September.
- The film is co-written and directed by Nyla Innuksuk, who previously created VR works about the Canadian Indigenous experience.
- Anna Lambe stars as Yura, an Inuk artist who makes VR works and is transitioning to feature films.
- Zorga Qaunaq plays Sesi, an old friend whose reappearance disrupts Yura's life and screenplay.
- Innuksuk created a VR piece for the Sámi pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale.
- Innuksuk's first feature film, Slash/Back (2022), is about Inuk girls fighting an alien invasion.
- Lambe and Qaunaq co-star in the CBC and Netflix comedy series North of North.
- The film satirizes the art world's transactional wokeness and representation politics.
Entities
Artists
- Nyla Innuksuk
- Anna Lambe
- Zorga Qaunaq
Institutions
- Toronto International Film Festival
- Venice Biennale
- Sámi pavilion
- National Film Board of Canada
- CBC
- Netflix
Locations
- Toronto
- Canada
- Venice
- Italy
- Baffin Island