Northern coming-of-age film seeks Inuit actor for lead role

The life of a 17-year-old boy from a small Alaskan village changes overnight as he becomes a wanted terrorist for shooting a hole into the trans-Alaska pipeline before escaping into the wild.

Fleeing an FBI manhunt in the United States, the boy escapes to Canada where he reconnects with his Inuit mother’s roots in Nunavut and learns for the first time “what it actually means to be alive.”

This is the plot of In Alaska, an upcoming feature film from Dutch director Jaap van Heusden, co-written and co-directed by Iqaluit-based filmmaker Vinnie Karetak.

Described by Karetak as a “smorgasbord of feelings and real situations,” the storyline of the film, which is fully fictional, is partly inspired by the 2001 FBI investigation into Alaskan hunter Daniel Carson Lewis, who drunkenly shot a hole into the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

It’s also inspired by another story van Heusden was once told by an Alaskan villager about a man who committed the same crime but escaped to Canada and was never found.

Van Heusden, who is based in the Netherlands, contacted Karetak in 2019 to collaborate on the film’s script.

“Just before the lockdown, Jaap had reached out to me with a story idea that he wanted to get some opinions on as it has some Inuit elements,” Karetak said in a joint interview with van Heusden.

“He said that he didn’t want to be that white guy from Europe writing stories or character backgrounds for the Inuit characters.”

This will be their first collaboration.

Karetak said his input helped add “depth and perspective” to some of the characters, such as the film’s protagonist Woody, who the coming-of-age story is based around.

“One of the things I really appreciated in working with Vinnie was that there were people who kept telling me that the dark themes in Woody’s story might reinforce negative stereotypes, but he was very firm in wanting to be truthful,” van Heusden said.

With plans to start filming in March in Nunavut, Kris & Kara Casting issued an open casting call for Woody, a role van Heusden and Karetak hope to fill before auditioning the rest of the film’s characters.

“We’re looking for authenticity,” said Karetak.

“As it’s a coming-of-age story, the character of Woody comes into himself later on in the film, so we’d like to see that person become sort of radiant with pride and a sense of belonging which he didn’t previously have.”

No acting experience is required for the role but van Heusden, who was a young actor himself before going into filmmaking, recognizes it can be a “scary but ultimately rewarding” experience.

They’re still deciding which northern community to film in. Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk are potential locations.

“There’s going to be an influx of over 30 people, including staff and actors in the community, so it’s a logistical thing we’re trying to figure out,” said Karetak.

Van Heusden hopes the film’s production will “bring something good to the community” in a way that doesn’t overwhelm residents. Some of the larger scenes could be filmed in Iqaluit.

Karetak, who has been involved in other northern productions such as Qanurli, a popular comedy show in Inuktitut on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, also recognized the high costs that may be involved.

“Flying equipment in and out of a community is one of the most preventative things about filming up North,” he said.

The film is a joint production with IJswater Films in the Netherlands, Experimental Forest Films in Vancouver, B.C., and Uuktumiaq Studios in Nunavut.

With an $8-million production budget, the film has received funding from the Netherlands Film Fund and Telefilm Canada, among others.