Angunnguaq Larsen is busy setting up the sound equipment for the Aasapalaaq Festival, one of the leading cultural events of the summer here in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. It’s late August, and Greenlanders know to take advantage of a sunny day before the weather becomes unbearable. Local groups sell hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. Kids play around Aqqaluk Square while grandparents sit on folding chairs.

Family entertainment starts in the morning, with some smaller acts taking over the afternoon. As the sun sets, legendary singer-songwriter Rasmus Lyberth takes the stage with his guitar. When his raspy voice reaches the high notes of “Nipaannerup Anersaava (The Spirit of Silence)”, a teary-eyed crowd joins in. Lyberth is a source of national pride, one of the few local musicians whose fame has spread beyond the island.

Angunnguaq Larsen is busy setting up the sound equipment for the Aasapalaaq Festival, one of the leading cultural events of the summer here in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. It’s late August, and Greenlanders know to take advantage of a sunny day before the weather becomes unbearable. Local groups sell hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. Kids play around Aqqaluk Square while grandparents sit on folding chairs.

Family entertainment starts in the morning, with some smaller acts taking over the afternoon. As the sun sets, legendary singer-songwriter Rasmus Lyberth takes the stage with his guitar. When his raspy voice reaches the high notes of “Nipaannerup Anersaava (The Spirit of Silence)”, a teary-eyed crowd joins in. Lyberth is a source of national pride, one of the few local musicians whose fame has spread beyond the island.

In between songs, people keep approaching Larsen, who is also a local celebrity. Despite regularly working as a sound technician and music professor, he has starred in some of Greenland’s most famous movies. In 2009, he appeared in Nuummioq, a story about a construction worker who finds love right when he gets diagnosed with cancer, considered to be the first feature film entirely produced in Greenland. He is also the go-to Inuit actor for international productions. Just recently, he starred in the fourth season of True Detective, Netflix’s Thin Ice, and, before that, he played Greenland’s mysterious prime minister in the hit Danish TV show Borgen.

Angunnguaq is an award-winning international star, but he cannot yet make a living solely from his acting. Greenlandic local films are scarce and international productions only turn to him for the limited Arctic Indigenous roles. “If I had blue eyes and blond hair, I would work all the time,” he told Foreign Policy, only half-jokingly. “It takes time, but in 10 years, I hope there is a film industry here.”

Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, and over 80 percent of Greenlanders support the island’s independence. An even higher percentage are opposed to any talk of a U.S. takeover. In this context, cinema is seen as a tool to represent the island’s identity and aspirations, both at home and abroad. For too long, Greenlandic stories have been told by foreign filmmakers, often focusing on problems like alcoholism, depression, or suicide. Now, a new community of artists is trying to reclaim their own voice—and help chart their own political future.

Ruth, who at the beginning of Walls – Akinni Inuk had served nine years of........

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