[INTERVIEW] ‘The Gnawer of Rocks’ Animator, Louise Flaherty (Sundance Animator Spotlight Series 2026 #4)

Today we continue our annual tradition of getting to know the animators at the Sundance Film Festival. Our next animator to profile is Louise Flaherty who has a new short at the festival, The Gnawer of Rocks. 

How did you get started in animation? 

LF: There are so many animated films for children in English. We (my partners Neil and Danny Christopher) saw a need to have our Inuktitut language visible through all avenues and one being through film. Inuktitut language is rapidly declining and we decided that film is one way to ensure that we are preserving the language and promoting it. 

Tell us about Inhabit Media Inc and what you all do? 

LF: We are book publishers, and we happen to all be educators, so we founded Inhabit Media first before Taqqut Productions. I am from a generation of teachers that had to create my own supplementary teaching resources in Inuktitut. I wanted the next generation of teachers to have better access to resources in Inuktitut. Teaching is a profession where you commit your life ensuring children are educated. With planning, marking and everything else that comes with teaching, being expected to create our resources was taking away from family life. So, we started from need.

Tell us about your short Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawer of Rocks)

LF: I first heard Mangittatuarjuk as a child from one of our elders in school. I regret not being born in the generation before mine where our parents had access to authentic stories in an intimate setting of their homes. I heard mine in school or when we went to visit elders in their homes. Mangittatuarjuk piqued my interest as it was a horror story. I also heard stories about Ogres and witches eating children so it was comparable to them. Since I come from an oral tradition, I loved listening to our own stories, and we do have many creation stories and other stories that can entertain us.

How did you do the fire animation? 

LF: We worked with amazing artists, Evan DeRushie and his team from the Stop Motion Department. We had so many meetings via Zoom to make sure the story was captured how I wanted it. They did more than what I expected.

What was the process for the stop motion? 

LF: Many zoom meetings and since I live in Iqaluit, I had to make a few trips to Toronto to the studio to meet with the team. It was a full collaborative approach.

Who did the vocal performances for the short? 

LF: I had friends, family and a renowned artist Beatrice Deer did the music.

What do you hope people take away from the short? 

LF: That people get exposed to Indigenous stories from Canada. We have amazing stories that have yet to be told to a greater audience.

We’d love to thank Louise for taking the time to talk with us and if you are attending the festival make sure to check out The Gnawer of Rocks as part of the Animated Short Film Program.