Nunavut Film & Photography Production Services & Camera Crews
Are you a media company, brand, ad agency or production company looking for film / photography production support or shooting crew in Nunavut? Contact us for trusted fixers, producers, directors, DoPs, videographers, photographers, and full shooting crews tailored for the specific needs of your project.
Filming in Nunavut
For an introduction to shooting in Nunavut see below notes on film locations, permits, when to shoot, unique local stories, costs, tax incentives, crews, talent, equipment, communications, art department, studios, post facilities, visas and work permits for filming, transport, film-friendly accommodation, and safety advice.
Nunavut Film Locations
Nunavut is a vast frozen wilderness of otherworldly landscapes including ice-capped mountains, ice floes, deep fjords, and a rugged Arctic coast. It is both the least populous and the largest in area of the provinces and territories of Canada.
Agricultural goods are mostly imported. Nunavut mines oil and gas, iron ore, and gold. Energy locations include diesel fuel power generators.
Nunavut has hosted films including Two Lovers and a Bear (2016), Searchers (2016), The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006), Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), and Map of the Human Heart (1992).
Qikiqtaaluk Region
The Qikiqtaaluk region is located in the northeast of the territory.
Iqaluit is the capital of the territory and the largest city. Home to around 8000 people, it can only be reached by air or boat. Locations of note include the igloo shaped Saint Jude’s Anglican Cathedral and the Legislative Building of Nunavut. Buildings are all in the functional design one might expect from a frozen climate. Two Lovers and a Bear (2016), and Map of the Human Heart (1992) filmed in Iqaluit.
Igloolik is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin where Searchers (2016), The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006), and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) were filmed.
Alert is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world.
Auyuittuq National Park is located on Baffin Island. It is a vast terrain of Arctic wilderness including fjords, glaciers, and ice fields. The park is home to wildlife including beluga whales, polar bears, wolves, narwhals, Arctic foxes, and caribou. Thor Peak is a spectacular location in the park. Mount Asgard featured in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
Sirmilik National Park is located on Baffin Island. Bylot Island is known for its hoodoos, icefields and glaciers. Oliver Sound is a fjord flanked by towering cliffs and glaciers. The Borden Peninsula is known for its river valleys.
Quttinirpaaq National Park is a polar desert. It is the second most northerly park on earth.
Qausuittuq National Park is a cluster of islands in a polar desert. The park is rich in marine life.
Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area is also located in this region.
Haughton impact crater located on Devon Island has a landscape that looks like Mars.
Prince Leopold Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary hosts 400,000 nesting birds in the summer.
Mary River Mine is an open pit iron ore mine.
Kitikmeot Region
The Kitikmeot region is located in the northwest of the territory.
Cambridge Bay is the largest settlement in this region.
Jericho Diamond Mine is a dormant dormant open-pit diamond mine.
Hope Bay Gold Mine is located in this region.
Kivalliq Region
The Kitikmeot region is located in the south of the territory.
The Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, home to 500,000 migrating caribou, is the largest wildlife refuge in Canada.
Ukkusiksalik National Park is an area of tundra and mud flats. Wildlife includes polar bears and caribou.
Meadowbank Gold Mine is a dormant open-pit gold mine.
Nunavut Film Location Permits
Nunavut film location permits are required for filming in Territorial Parks and National Parks. Wildlife Permits are required for productions involving close interactions with animals. Filming on Inuit lands also requires consultation and permission from local authorities. Please contact us for location specific information.
When To Shoot?
Nunavut has a polar climate with severely cold winters and mild summers. Most of the Arctic is a polar desert where rainfall is uncommon.
Summer months above the Arctic Circle have 24 hours of sunlight. Colorful Arctic flowers bloom, some for just a few days. Summers have very intense light conditions so camera filters may be required. Note, summers see a lot of mosquitoes.
Winter comes early with average temperatures well below freezing. Winter months above the Arctic Circle experience 24 hours of darkness.
Nunavut experiences the meteorological phenomenons Diamond Dust and Sun Dog. The Aurora Borealis is best photographed from September to March.
January sees Inuit celebrations marking the return of the sun and April sees festivities marking the return of spring. Events include everything from igloo building and seal skinning, to dog sledding and snowmobile races. The Northwest Passage Marathon takes place in July / August every year.
Public holidays may affect timing, availability and costs. See here for public holiday dates in Canada.
Unique Local Stories
Brands are looking for local stories that match their brand narrative. Our local teams are a great lead for sourcing those unique stories and characters.
If you are looking for stories for your next shoot, send us your brief and we will pitch you ideas.
If you have a unique story you would like to pitch to a brand anywhere in the world, pitch us your idea. We have well-established processes to ensure that your ideas are properly seen and protected.
Nunavut Tax Incentives For Filming
Tax Incentives. Nunavut offers eligible productions a rebate of 17% on costs of production goods and services purchased and consumed in Nunavut.
Nunavut Film Crew & Talent
Crews can be flown in from Toronto or Montreal. Canadian crews are very experienced in working in cold and challenging conditions.
Contact us if you are looking for a director, DP, photographer, videographer (cameraman / camera operator), camera assistant (focus puller), sound operator, grip, gaffer, stylist, hair and makeup, PA / runner, production driver, or any other film crew for your shoot in Nunavut.
Talent. The majority of the population is Inuit. Only about 40,000 people live in the entire territory. The sparely populated territory has a very small pool of locally available talent so additional casting may be required out of Toronto, Vancouver, or abroad. Film characters synonymous with Nunavut include Inuit hunters, Arctic adventurers, mushers, and snowmobile racers.
Nunavut Film Equipment
Equipment. Best to bring in your film equipment or hire from Toronto or Montreal.
Communications. Communication is key. Our agility and global experience allows us to customise the right communications systems for every shoot.
Web posted casting, scouting, and videoconferencing.
For clients that are unable to attend set we offer a virtual video village solution. This dedicated and secure high-resolution video streaming platform allows clients from one or multiple timezones to view setups without compromise and to participate in real-time with the team on set. Separate systems can be set up for the discrete conversations that are required to make a job run right. Working remotely with our local teams reduces your content production costs, turnaround times, carbon footprint, and risks associated with unpredictable global events.
Visas & Work Permits
Previously the rules were very strict with all visiting crew required to have work permits that were very time consuming and expensive to get. The good news is now commercial advertising shoots are exempt from the work permit process on the condition the project is foreign funded. See here for more information.
For crew members who will be entering to oversee the project, Western passport holders are able to enter Canada visa-free with an eTA for a period of up to six months. This excludes US nationals arriving directly from the US, who are exempt from the eTA requirement.
Nunavut Transport & Accommodation
Transportation. Access to Nunavut is only possible by air and sea. Distances are vast and roads are very limited so getting to and from the different communities is best done by air. Shorter distances can be covered by ATV, snowmobile or dog sled.
Accommodation. Please contact us for recommended film friendly hotels in Iqaluit and other areas of Nunavut.
Final Notes
Safety. Nunavut is a very safe and reliable place to film. See here for up to date travel advice.
Down Time. Stay the night in a real igloo.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, stills campaigns, online content, corporate videos, virtual reality 360 content, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Nunavut, please see below:
Hire Nunavut Production Support & Shooting Crew
If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer for your shoot in Nunavut, please contact us.
If you are looking for a shooting crew for your shoot in Nunavut, such as a director, DoP, photographer, videographer (cameraman / camera operator), camera assistant (focus puller), sound operator, grip, gaffer, stylist, hair and makeup, PA / runner, production driver, please contact us.
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