FILM: Orsugiak - The White Gold of Greenland
Orsugiak – Greenland’s White Gold’ is a Danish-Kalaallit(Greenlandic) documentary film that investigates the forgotten story of Danish cryolite extraction in Ivittuut, southern Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland). The film seeks to uncover new and critical aspects of the meaning of colonial expropriation and the (de)generation of wealth in the Danish-Greenlandic relation. While cryolite sales generated a large turn-over in Denmark and funded central Danish institutions and daughter companies, the local Inuit community in Kalaallit Nunaat suffered various consequences as a result of having a Danish mine in their ancestral territory. The documentary film, directed by Otto Rosing and Claus Pilehave, questions the dominant narrative of Danish colonial economic benevolence and challenges the widely accepted public view that Kalaallit Nunaat has benefitted from its relation to Denmark - and not vice versa.
Only nine days after the documentary was launched on Danish TV in February 2025, the documentary was “un-published” after enormouscritique by the Danish media, public and politicians who accused the film to be ‘mis-leading’, ‘un-factual’, and ‘biased’. Arguably, not only the film itself but also its reception in Denmark brings historical and contemporary colonialism in Danish-Kalaallit relations into question.
The film screening will be opened by Naja Dyrendom Graugaard, lead character in Orsugiak. In a post-film panel, she and panelists, Vivi Vold and David Heilmann Ottosen, will share reflections on "cryolite colonialism", the de-publication and ensuing Danish media storm upon the film release, and Indigenous narrative sovereignty.
Screening and post-film panel
Saturday 25th of October, 4pm / 16
Place: The local museum / Nuutoqaq
Hans Egedesvej 29, Nuuk 3900
Naja Dyrendom Graugaard is Associate Professor at Center for Gender, Sexuality & Difference at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, Copenhagen University. She is a Danish-Kalaaleq(Inuk) researcher with an expertise in past and present colonial relations between Denmark and Kalaallit Nunaat. Her research attends to decolonial, intersectional, arts-based and Indigenous narratives; Kalaallit lived experiences, land relations, and Inuit knowledge systems. She is Affiliate scholar at RIFS, Research Institue for Sustainability, GFZ, Potsdam, and she is a recipient of the Emma Goldman Award 2025, as well as Emma Goldman Fellowship.
Vivi Vold is an Indigenous scholar, artist, and filmmaker from Kalaallit Nunaat. Her work is about Inuit knowledge and values – understanding the complex Inuit Knowledge system through art and research.
David Heilmann Ottoson is a recent graduate of social and cultural history at Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland and a filmmaker. He is part of the Inuit youth engagement programme at Inuit Circumpolar Council and advocates for Indigenous land relations and sovereignty.
