Alutiiq Language Documentary Almost Complete

A screen grab from the "Keep Talking" teaser. Courtesy of Ten Trees Productions
A screen grab from the “Keep Talking” teaser. Courtesy of Ten Trees Productions

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

A documentary team just came to Kodiak to screen its Alutiiq language film and get feedback.

“Keep Talking” covers the revitalization of the Alutiiq language on the island, and records the effort of passing the language down from elders to the younger generation.

Director Karen Weinberg says the idea started in Kodiak, when she flew in from Chicago to teach a week-long editing class.

“And everyone in my class was Kodiak Alutiiq and learning the editing software to continue preserving their language and culture, and it’s just not your typical editing class. So, I was drawn in, and I wanted to tell that story and help bear witness to what was happening here.”

Weinberg says the feeling of connectedness and community, which she sees as having been lost for many people, is what drew her to this project and to Kodiak’s story.

“It kinda knocked me over how strong it is here and it’s through the language revitalization, all the meetings and the act of doing it seemed to have this kind of bonding and healing property, and that’s what fascinated me so that was kind of where we followed it and we followed it as we saw it manifesting in people’s lives.”

Weinberg says the recent screenings went well, which means they can go ahead and start moving onto the final edits. They hope to market the documentary to television networks like PBS.

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