Inspired by mythology, fantasy and stories of nature, 黑料吃瓜网 dystopian thriller Polaris is set to appear on big and small screens as early as 2022. 

The film, a collaboration between Yellowknife-born filmmaker Kirsten Carthew and Whitehorse producer Max Fraser, follows the story of a young girl trying to find her way home after escaping capture from warriors who want her mother dead. 

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic forever-winter and focuses on themes of nature and the relationship between humans and their environment. 

The film鈥檚 protagonist is able to navigate the harsh environment through lessons learned from her polar bear teacher 鈥� played by 26-year-old polar bear and on-screen veteran, Agee. 

Carthew said she has always loved both fantasy and the outdoors. 鈥淢ost of the stories I tell have something to do with both,鈥� she said. 

Carthew compared exploring relationships between humans and animals, to travelling somewhere without knowing the language or the customs. 

Humanity and intuition are on full display, she said, as you鈥檙e forced to relate and communicate in the most basic ways. 

Among Carthew鈥檚 former works are Dead North short, Fish Out of Water, and award winning feature film The Sun At Midnight 鈥� both shot in the NWT. 

Carthew wrote Polaris to be filmed in the NWT as well, though it was instead shot in the Yukon for financial reasons. 

Carthew called 黑料吃瓜网ers 鈥渁mbitious,鈥� 鈥渆xtremely hard workers,鈥� and 鈥渉ardy troubleshooters.鈥� 

She said collaborating between territories helps create networking opportunities and build the industry. 

K鈥檃 Nakehk鈥檕, a Yellowknifer who worked as a production assistant (PA) on set, was among those taking advantage of the partnership. 

Nakehk鈥檕 hopes to pursue film as a career and touts the opportunity to have spent five weeks helping out with the camera crew, driving cast and crew to and from sets and rubbing shoulders with production staff of all kinds to learn the ropes and take in as much as he could. 

鈥淚t was awesome to work with so many people in the industry and getting to pick their brains,鈥� he said of the experts he met. 

In the five weeks he spent on set, each day was varied. 

鈥淓ven if we鈥檙e working on one scene for the whole week, we鈥檙e capturing different camera angles, and doing different things each day.鈥� 

For all the new things he tried, and people he met, Nakehk鈥檕鈥檚 biggest takeaway was 鈥渉ow far having a good attitude can really get you.鈥� 

For his own career, Nakehk鈥檕 said he sees himself working in front of the camera. 

Growing up, Nakehk鈥檕 loved superhero movies. He noticed from a young age, however, that the lead actors were mostly white. 

鈥淚t would be awesome to get more Indigenous faces in TV and movies,鈥� he said, 鈥渢o give Indigenous people a good name and talk about things people might not know about Indigenous people.鈥� 

To grow the industry for Nakehk鈥檕 and his cohort, Carthew said decision makers need to recognize film as a viable industry in the NWT. 

She sees significant interest and creative talent in residents of the territory, but resources and funding are necessary to nurture those projects. 

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a real challenge in the North whereby people think filmmaking is purely about art. That鈥檚 a huge part of it, and for most filmmakers that鈥檚 the motivation, but it鈥檚 also an economic industry that requires funding and returns funding to industry.鈥� 

Through the film commission and the advocacy efforts of individuals and organization, there has been progress in gaining industry recognition, but there鈥檚 more work to be done, Carthew said, to create a landscape for telling 黑料吃瓜网 stories in 黑料吃瓜网 settings. 

Polaris received funding primarily through national and regional funds, as well as through partnership with the NWT film commission to pay expenses and wages. 

The film鈥檚 bill is hovering around $2.5 million, though it could easily have been a bigger production Carthew explained. 

Once complete, Polaris will be screened on broadcast networks 鈥� though Carthew couldn鈥檛 say which 鈥� in addition to its theatrical release. 

Post-production is set to take the crew until the end of the year, after which Carthew said she鈥檚 鈥渆xcited to show the product to the North.鈥� 

鈥淭he NWT can feel really proud of the work they鈥檝e done.鈥�