Private Project

WE UP: Indigenous Hip-Hop of the Circumpolar North

Forty years after hip-hop was born in the South Bronx, it's being re-imagined in fresh ways by young Indigenous artists of the North— from Athabascan villages in Alaska, to the capital city of Greenland, to reindeer-herding towns in northern Finland.

WE UP: Indigenous Hip-Hop of the Circumpolar North is a feature-length documentary film produced by the Anchorage Museum. It profiles the rising stars of Northern Indigenous hip-hop while exploring themes in their work connecting them across vast distances, such as: the challenges of decolonization, pride in self and traditional culture, deconstructing stereotypes, celebration of endangered Native languages, and spiritual connections to Northern homelands.

  • Priscilla Naunġaġiaq Hensley
    Director
  • David Holthouse
    Director
    The Seven Five, Operation Odessa, Lorena
  • Anchorage Museum
    Producer
  • Aqqalu Bertelson // Uyarakq
    Key Cast
  • Ailu Valle
    Key Cast
  • Mikkal Morottaja // AMOC
    Key Cast
  • Allison Warden // AKU-MATU
    Key Cast
  • Arielo Taylor // Bisco
    Key Cast
  • Julian Lillie // Bishop Slice
    Key Cast
  • Ánna-Katri Helander
    Key Cast
  • Bri McMillen Pritchard // Bgirl SnapOne
    Key Cast
  • Josef Tarrak-Petrussen
    Key Cast
  • Kim Jakobsen // KimOJax
    Key Cast
  • Nils Rune Utsi // SlinCraze
    Key Cast
  • Yarsem Galkin
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    59 minutes 32 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Anchorage International Film Festival
    Anchorage, AK
    United States
    December 1, 2018
    World Premiere
    Official selection
  • Tromsø International Film Festival
    Tromsø
    Norway
    January 16, 2019
    European Premiere
    Official selection
  • Skábmagovat Indigenous Film Festival
    Inari
    Finland
    January 25, 2019
    Finnish Premiere
    Official selection
  • Riddu Riđđu Festivála
    Samuelsberg
    Norway
    July 12, 2019
Director Biography - Priscilla Naunġaġiaq Hensley, David Holthouse

Priscilla Naunġaġiaq Hensley (Iñupiaq) is a writer and artist from Anchorage and Kotzebue, Alaska. She is now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she studies Cinematic Arts at the Institute of American Indian Art.

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