Land of the long day

Canada, 1952

Film
Please note

Sorry, we don't have images or video for this item.

During the short Arctic summer on Baffin Island, the native Inuit enjoys four months of continuous daylight. But it is not time for relaxation, for provision must be made for the long, cold winter night ahead. In this film Idlouk, an Inuit hunter, tells of his life in the northern land. We watch as he stalks the seal so vital to his existance, and as he and other hunters set out in kayaks to harpoon the white whale and the narwhal. At camp we meet his wife, children and aged parents, each of whom has work to do in the unceasing struggle for survival in this harsh land. (Six awards. including Chicago; Durban; Cortina d’Ampezzo)

Content notification

Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.

Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/88634--land-of-the-long-day/ |title=Land of the long day |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=18 March 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}