New aptn kids series Anaana’s Tent celebrates Inuit identity and Inuktitut language
“By broadcasting in Inuktitut we hope to keep the language strong across Nunavut and spoken by the next generation of Inuit children.”
On May 12, 2018, Anaana’s Tent premiered on APTN.
Anaana’s Tent is an educational preschool TV series that promotes literacy and numeracy, and prepares children for their first years of school. The series is a mixture of live-action, puppet and animated segments, and is filled with Northern stories. Anaana’s Tent also teaches Inuit values of kindness, friendship, patience and environmental stewardship.
Set in a special tent, the series features host Rita Claire (Rita Claire Mike-Murphy of Pangnirtung, Nunavut) who sings songs, plays games, reads stories and learns new words in Inuktitut, all with the help of her grumpy but lovable retired sled dog Qimmiq (Puppeteer: Ippiksaut Friesen of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut).
“We are thrilled, excited and hopeful that Inuktitut programming such as Anaana’s Tent will pave the way for more Inuk filmmakers of all genres. I am proud of this series because quality programming that’s educational should be at the forefront for youngsters,” says Nadia Mike, series writer and director. “Television programming in Inuktitut needs to be available for all ages to be truly immersed in one’s language.”
Produced by Taqqut Productions and filmed on location in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, Anaana’s Tent features Inuit cast and Nunavummiut musical performers.
This unique groundbreaking series is available in Inuktitut, the language spoken by much of the Eastern Arctic, and in English. The English language version will air in the fall of 2018 and will also aim to teach Inuktitut to non-native speakers.