Elisapie

Elisapie Isaac (also known simply as Elisapie; syllabics: ᐃᓕᓴᐱ) is a Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker, and activist.[1][2] She spent her childhood in Salluit, Nunavik, and moved to Montreal in 1999 to pursue communication studies in order to become a journalist.

Elisapie
Elisapie Isaac on stage in Montreal in August 2011
Born
Elisapie Isaac

1977
Salluit, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation
  • Musician
  • documentary filmmaker
Years active1989—present
Websiteelisapie.com

Biography

Born in Salluit, Quebec to an Inuk mother and a father from Newfoundland,[3] she performed at age twelve with the Salluit band Sugluk.[4] Isaac collaborated with instrumentalist Alain Auger in the musical project Taima (Inuktitut for "that's all" or "it is done"[5][6]) in the early 2000s. The band's sole album, Taima, won the Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year in 2005. In 2006, Isaac wrote lyrics for songs composed by Bruno Coulais for the film The White Planet.

In 2010, Isaac's first solo album, There Will Be Stars, was released by Pheromone Recordings.[3] On the album, she sings in English, French, and Inuktitut. Her second solo album, Travelling Love, was released in October 2012 under the name Elisapie. During the Juno Awards, she was mistakenly nominated as Breakthrough Artist of the Year, before it was revealed that she had been a Juno winner in 2005; the nomination was rescinded.[7] She garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards for her song "Far Away", which appeared in the film The Legend of Sarila. She was nominated for the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year in 2019 for The Ballad of the Runaway Girl.[8] In July 2019, the album was shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize.[9] This album again contained lyrics in English, French, and Inuktitut.

Isaac has an extensive background in media production as well. When asked about her work in this medium in relation to her music, she has stated "I really believe that communication and radio was really a place for me to express my inner creativity, and I love that medium. And it has helped me to be a little more aware, especially when I have to be doing interviews and have a larger vision of my work than just the artiste point of view".[10]

If the Weather Permits

Isaac's 2003 National Film Board of Canada documentary If the Weather Permits, filmed in Kangiqsujuaq, northern Quebec, looks at the changing lifestyles of Inuit people in Nunavik. The film received several awards, including the Claude Jutra Award for best new director at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, and the Rigoberta Menchu Prize at the First Peoples' Festival.[2][11] It is included in the 2011 Inuit film anthology Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories.[12]

Personal life

Isaac dated actor Patrice Robitaille from 2003 to 2011. In 2006, she gave birth to a daughter, named Lili-Alacie. She also has a son, born in 2014. In February 2018, she revealed that she was pregnant with her third child, a boy.[13]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee/Work Result Ref
2005 Juno Award Aboriginal Recording of the Year Taima Won [14]
2014 Canadian Screen Award Best Original Song Far Away Nominated
2019 Juno Award Indigenous Music Album of the Year The Ballad of the Runaway Girl Nominated [8]
2019 Polaris Music Prize Long List, Short List The Ballad of the Runaway Girl Nominated

Discography

Taima

  • Taima (2004)

Solo

  • There Will Be Stars (2010)
  • Travelling Love (2012)
  • The Ballad of the Runaway Girl (2018)
  • Eaux turbulentes (2020) - television soundtrack, with Frédéric Levac[15]

Filmography
Year Film Credited as Notes Ref.
Director Writer
2003 If the Weather Permits Yes Yes short documentary film [16]

References
  1. "Inuit pop, Algonquin rap, Innu reggae aim for mainstream". Agence France-Presse, October 8, 2009.
  2. "Profile: Elisapie Isaac". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  3. "Elisapie Isaac to play Iqaluit at month’s end". Nunatsiaq Online, March 8, 2010.
  4. Dicknoether, Alan. "The First Talentshow Salluit: Forging a bond between generations". Above & Beyond: Canada's Arctic Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  5. George, Jane. "Isaac CD reaches wide audiences". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  6. "Taima". Asuilaak Living Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  7. Patch, Nick (28 March 2013). "Quebec singer Elisapie tries to laugh off being an ex-Juno nominee". Montreal Gazette. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  8. "2019 JUNO Award Nominees". Juno Awards. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  9. "Dominique Fils-Aimé, Les Louanges et Elisapie nommés sur la courte liste du prix Polaris". Voir, July 16, 2019.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2012-02-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "If the Weather Permits". Collection. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  12. "NFB AND INUIT PARTNERS LAUNCH UNIKKAUSIVUT: SHARING OUR STORIES" (PDF). Press release. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  13. "La chanteuse Elisapie Isaac attend la visite de la cigogne" [Singer Elisapie Isaac Anticipating Stork Visit]. envedette.ca (in French). 14 February 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  14. George, Jane. "Isaac CD reaches wide audiences". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  15. "BLIKTV sort la bande musicale de la série télé Eaux Turbulentes" [BLIKTV Releases Music from TV Series Eaux Turbulentes]. kkbox.com (in French). 16 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  16. "If the Weather Permits". nfb.ca. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

Elisapie at IMDb

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