Lucy Tulugarjuk (born February 28, 1975) is an Inuk Canadian actress, throat singer, and director. She is executive director for the Nunavut Independent Television Network. She is best known to international audiences for appearing in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025).
Early life Tulugarjuk is from Igloolik, Nunavut.
Career Tulugarjuk is known for starring in the 2001 film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, for which she won the award for Best Actress at the American Indian Film Festival. In 2015, she acted in the film Maliglutit.
In 2017 she directed her first feature-length film Tia and Piujuq ().Ismaël Houdassine, "Tia et Piujuq, l’amitié sans frontières". Ici Radio-Canada Montreal, December 10, 2018. The film featured Marie-Hélène Cousineau as producer, and Tulugarjuk's daughter in the lead role as Piujuq.
With Carol Kunnuk she was co-director, co-writer and co-star of Tautuktavuk (What We See), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and won the Amplify Voices Award for Best First Film.Christian Zilko, "American Fiction’ Wins People’s Choice Award at 2023 TIFF (Complete Winners List)". IndieWire, September 17, 2023.
She performs as a throat singer, but in 2014 declined to perform for Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq in protest of the government's seismic testing. That year, she wore seal skin at the Gone Wild show in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories to support Inuit culture. In 2016, she also called for the resignation of Aglukkaq's successor as MP, Hunter Tootoo.
She is executive director for Nunavut Independent Television Network, a service of Isuma based in Igloolik. In 2021, Isuma launched Uvagut TV, a 24/7 online channel devoted to Inuktitut language programming, for which Tulugarjuk is managing director. Tulugarjuk reported that she sees the channel as "a tool for preserving and revitalizing the Inuit people's language and culture."
Filmography As actress Year Title Role Notes2001 Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner Puja 2005 L'iceberg Nattikuttuk 2006 The Journals of Knud Rasmussen Nuvvija 2007 Issaittuq Title translated as 'waterproof'2013 Maïna Aasivak 2016 Searchers 'Maliglutit' in Ikutitut.2018 Tia and Piujuq Tarriagsuk Ansaana 2020 Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice Young Shaman 2023 Tautuktavuk (What We See) Uyarak2025 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Tapeesa
As filmmaker Year Title Role Notes 2006 The Journals of Knud Rasmussen Writer, casting director, makeup artist Credited with writing the Inuktitut dialogue 2018 Tia and Piujuq Director, writer 2019 Restless River Co-producer 2023 Tautuktavuk (What We See) Co-director, co-writer, actor with Carol Kunnuk
Accolades Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2001 American Indian Film Festival Best Actress Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner 2023Toronto International Film FestivalAmplify Voices BIPOC Canadian First Feature AwardTautuktavuk (What We See)
References
External links
Lucy Tulugarjuk at Isuma TV Lucy Tulugarjuk on the Inuit Art Quarterly Profiles Lucy Tulugarjuk on Qaggiavuut