Iqaluit rolls out red carpet for ‘North of North’
Comedy series premieres Jan. 7 on CBC and APTN; nearly 300 attend Iqaluit preview screening
From left, Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Maika Harper, Zorga Qaunaq, Anna Lambe and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril pose on the red carpet at the Astro Theatre in Iqaluit Monday ahead of a sold-out screening of “North of North.” (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
In three weeks, TV audiences will get the chance to be transported to the fictional Nunavut community of Ice Cove.
There they will meet Siaja, a young Inuk mother played by Anna Lambe, trying to navigate life after a public exit from her marriage in the Netflix comedy series North of North.
The show’s two-episode premiere airs Jan. 7 on CBC and APTN, but nearly 300 attendees in Iqaluit were able to get a preview of North of North Monday night, when the Astro Theatre hosted a sold-out screening event of the first two episodes.
The show was filmed in Iqaluit earlier this year and involved the recruitment of local talent as lead performers and extras, including Iqaluit-raised actresses Maika Harper, who plays Siaja’s mother Neevee, and Keira Belle Cooper, who plays Siaja’s seven-year-old daughter Bun.
For Lambe, starring in North of North has been a “massive honour.”
“I saw the casting call for the show and I saw the description of the show, and I knew immediately it was something that I wanted to be a part of,” she said in an interview.
“Siaja is the lead, but I think she’s nothing without the ensemble that makes the show what it is.”
Making the show was a “community effort,” Lambe said, pointing to co-operation from the City of Iqaluit in closing roads to allow for filming and taking over the curling rink last winter, and others who simply showed up from time to time to bring things the crew needed.
Calling Iqaluit one of the most beautiful places in the world, Lambe said she’s excited to share her hometown with a global audience.
“There’s so many different types of comedy and so many different types of characters, and they are people that we see within our communities and people that we love and appreciate and adore,” she said.
Lambe was reunited with some of her cast, crew and fellow community members for Monday’s screening.
Zorga Qaunaq, who plays Siaja’s friend Millie on North of North, said it’s special to showcase the first two episodes to Iqaluit, where some people attending the screening might recognize themselves as extras.
“I really hope it inspires people and I’m very, very excited too,” she said.
“I think I’m going to cry, but it’s good!”
Actress Maika Harper described her hopes for how North of North is received by the general public.
“I hope that people realize that there are modern Inuit, that we are existing, that people live in the Arctic, and yeah, we’re fiery, we’re amazing, we’re going to take over,” she said.
Co-created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, North of North is scheduled for a streaming release on Netflix in spring 2025.
Oh wow!! I am very excited for this to come out. A must see.
This program will be very good for the people of Nunavut.
Coronation Street has been going for over 65 years ! So good luck to everybody.
About the nice photographs, Stacey is giving the peace sign, but Zorga and Anna are
doing something completely different as Monty Python would say. Even Winston Churchill
made that mistake, so what the heck.
MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY!!!
… Not in this country.
Great show. Looking forward to binging it and seeing faces of the community there. Great job Alethea& team, excellent production.