92 Minutes – Drama, Indigenous,
Language: Inuktitut, English subtitles
Festival release date: September 7, 2008 – TIFF
Release date: March 27, 2009
Canadian Distributor: Alliance Films

Based on the book Før Morgendagen by famed Danish author Jørn Riel, the story is set circa 1840, when some Inuit tribes had yet to meet white people, although rumors were circulating about where they came from and why they traveled. Two isolated families meet for a summertime celebration. Food is abundant and the future seems bright, but Ningiuq, a strong and wise old woman, sees her world as fragile and moves through it with a pervasive sense of dread. Ningiuq and her grandson Maniq are dropped off on a remote island, where, every year, the family dries the catch and stores it for winter. The task is soon finished and summer turns to fall. But no one comes to pick them up. With the coming of the first snow, Ningiuq and Maniq make their way back to the main camp only to discover all the others dead in their tents. Among their bodies are artifacts from white men who had visited and spread an unkown disease. Ningiuq and Maniq return to the island, but now the weather has turned against them. As winter sets in, they take shelter in a cave, and together face a dark future. It won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.

Poster & trailer courtesy of Alliance Films.

Northernstars reviews Before Tomorrow.
Northernstars reviews the Before Tomorrow DVD.