on the ice press notes 012011c2979932.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/on_the_ice...on the ice...
TRANSCRIPT
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ONTHEICEA feature film written and directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
TRT: 96 min. | U.S.A. | Language: English and Iñupiaq with English subtitles | Color | 35mm
SYNOPSISIn this engrossing and suspenseful feature film debut by filmmaker Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, two teenage boys who have grown up like brothers go about their lives in the comfortable claustrophobia of an isolated Alaskan town. Early one morning, on a seal hunt with another teenager, an argument between the three boys quickly escalates into a tragic accident. Bonded by their dark secret, the two best friends are forced to create one fabrication after another in order to survive. The shocked boys stumble through guilt‐fueled days, avoiding the suspicions of their community as they weave a web of deceit. With their future in the balance, the two boys are forced to explore the limits of friendship and honor. Featuring breakout performances by Josiah Patkotak and Frank Qutuq Irelan.
SALES CONTACTS: PRESS CONTACTS: William Morris Endeavor Graham Taylor [email protected] | 310.246.3166 Deb McIntosh [email protected] | 310.246.3390
Brigade Marketing Adam Kersh [email protected] | 646.862.3122 Emily Lu [email protected] | 310.260.2539
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CASTJosiah Patkotak / QALLI Barrow, Alaska – Interest: Hunting
Teddy Kyle Smith / EGASAK Kiana, Alaska – Interest: Carpentry
Sierra Jade Sampson / UVLU Kiana, Alaska – Interest: Basketball
Rosabelle Kunnanna Rexford / AAKA Barrow, Alaska ‐ Interest: Sewing
Frank Qutuq Irelan /AIVAAQ Nome, Alaska – Interest: Hunting
Adamina Kerr / MICHELLE Montreal, Canada – Interest: Arts
John Miller / JAMES Barrow, Alaska – Interest: Fishing
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LOGLINEOn the snow‐covered Arctic tundra, at the top of the world in Alaska, two teenagers try to get away with murder.
DIRECTOR’SSTATEMENT
On the Ice was filmed 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Barrow, Alaska. This is my hometown. The temperature in winter is often over 40 degrees below zero. From November through January the sun never rises; from May to August the sun never sets. It is a place of limitless expanses of land, sky, and ice that paradoxically can evoke a crushingly claustrophobic sense of isolation.
Alaska is one of the last mythic places in the world. Nearly everyone has heard of it, but very few have any real understanding of what life in the Arctic is really like. The majority of the population are Iñupiat, as am I. Centuries old traditions are still a bedrock of life. Hunting seals, walrus, and whales provides much of the food the town lives on. This is a unique setting for a film.
The main characters, Qalli and Aivaaq, are from Barrow. They have grown up there, much as I did. As such their lives have been far from what is considered normal in other parts of the country. And yet they are also much like 17 year‐olds anywhere in North America. Their day‐to‐day dramas of status and identity can be found in any small town. On the Ice is a character‐driven thriller about getting away with murder and a morality tale about the limits of friendship and forgiveness.
It is a story that can happen anywhere, but only happens as it does here, in the Arctic.
Q&AWITHWRITER/DIRECTOR
ANDREWOKPEAHAMACLEAN
Q: You’re a native of Alaska who started out working in theatre—how did you get into filmmaking?
MACLEAN: About ten years ago I was living at home in Barrow, Alaska, writing and directing plays with a small theater company (Inupiat Theatre) that I co‐founded with a cousin of mine. We put in a lot of work into the pieces, and I’m proud of them, but Barrow has a pretty small audience base, a
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population 5000 or so. Film seemed like a way to tell stories that were relevant to me and to my culture and to be able to share my work with more than the 400‐500 friends and relatives who were able to come see our plays. I applied to the NYU Grad Film Program, got accepted and went from there.
My philosophy of working in independent film is to tell compelling stories about interesting and real people. My Iñupiaq culture is a part of the films I make because it is a part of who I am.
Q: ON THE ICE is somewhat of an adaptation your award‐winning original short, SIKUMI. How did SIKUMI evolve into your first feature length film?
MACLEAN: My short, SIKUMI, which means ‘on the ice’ in the Iñupiaq language was at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking. SIKUMI was the jumping off point for the feature, and the two projects share significant thematic similarities, but ON THE ICE the feature has developed into something very different.
The characters in ON THE ICE (the feature) are teenagers as opposed to adult men and the film is set in the present day. I wanted to tell a contemporary story because I wanted to highlight some of the challenges facing kids in small, arctic, Alaskan communities like Barrow.
Everything has accelerated considerably because of the saturation of modern/western culture. That theme of rapid social change is part of what I wanted to show on screen. Kids are forging their identities both from traditions that stretch back a thousand years and from a contemporary culture that reinvents itself every twenty minutes.
Hip‐hop has become a part of this identity. Kids who have never been within a thousand miles of an inner city are finding their voice through an essentially urban art form. I thought that was really interesting.
Q: What went into casting your lead actors as well as the locals featured in ON THE ICE?
MACLEAN: They’re all non‐actors. My producer Cara Marcous and I spent three months running casting workshops all over Alaska and Arctic Canada. “Aivaaq” (Frank Qutuq Irelan) was cast out of Nome—I met Frank years ago in Nome and with a little prodding from his mom, Frank came out to auditions and nailed it. It was his part to lose from his first audition. Some of the others, like Sierra, who plays “Uvlu,” sought us out; she flew herself in from her smaller village Kiana to read for us at the Kotzebue auditions. Teddy actually auditioned initially on video. I directed him over the phone and he uploaded to YouTube.
We met Adamina in Montreal in a very rushed layover on our way back to New York. We were flying back from Nunavut where we had held auditions in Igloolik, Iqaluit and Kuujjuaq and we actually held her audition in our hotel room.
Josiah who plays “Qalli,” auditioned pretty late in the process. We made several trips to Barrow attempting to find our “Qalli.” One day, during a particular lull in the audition process, Cara and I walked out into the waiting area and there was this crew of fifteen year‐old boys hanging out in there. We were only auditioning young people who were 16 or older in general, but then I noticed Josiah—a boy who I had first met years ago when I went on a hunting trip at his father’s cabin; he was six or seven at the time.
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Josiah had always been a cocky, self‐assured kid, and I had a feeling he might connect with the character. I decided to give him a shot even though he was too young and asked him to come read for the part. My instincts were right—he knocked it out of the park the very first time; his ability to understand Qalli and react genuinely in the moment were exceptional.
In order to make our final decisions, in January of 2010, we flew the top contenders for the main roles to Anchorage from all over the state. Our final call‐back group was about 15 people vying for 5 roles. We spent a week doing acting exercises, improvisation, script analysis, and scene work with a special focus on helping them learn how to exist in the moment. It is not an easy thing to do, even for an experienced actor, and all of the actors needed some time to become comfortable. For the last two days of our casting intensive we filmed a variety of scenes from the script so the actors could get a taste of the actual filmmaking process. It was also an opportunity for us to see them in action under pressure.
Although it wasn’t our main objective, the week also served as an in depth rehearsal process for those actors who were eventually chosen for the roles. Josiah, Qutuq, Teddy, Adamina and Sierra all came into the production process having a much deeper understanding of their characters.
Then the remaining main roles of Aaka, James, Sigvaun and Dora were people I had known from Barrow. Rosabelle (“Aaka”) is a friend of my mom’s and she’s always cracked me up. I actually always had her in mind when I wrote the part. John Miller (“James”) was someone I met several years ago in Barrow. Tara (“Dora”) and Allison (“Sigvaun”) are both friends of mine I’ve known for years.
Finally in March, a month before we started shooting, we flew the chosen lead actors to Barrow and rehearsed with them intensively during prep, gradually adding in other characters as we got closer to production. Having a month of in depth rehearsals on location during prep was unusual, but I think it’s the reason why the performances are as successful as they are.
Q: The film portrays the town of Barrow as a very tight and sequestered community, which is especially seen through interactions between the protagonists [Qalli and Aivaaq] and their fathers. There is a strong sense of unspoken history in this town.
MACLEAN: Absolutely; first off, so few people live in places like Barrow, it’s difficult for outsiders to comprehend that kind of isolation. There is no road in or out of town, no waking up in the morning and deciding you and your friends can go drive to another town. You’re stuck there with everyone you’ve ever known—most of them of some relation to you. As a result, everyone within the community is extremely tight and for the most part, people are incredibly generous with each other.
At the same time, in Barrow like any small town, everyone knows everyone else’s business. And in a community without secrets, Qalli and Aivaaq struggle to deal with their guilt and shame over what has happened. At the wake—which is called a “Singspiration”—we see the people of Barrow singing together as a means to deal their grief. But the boys are unable to participate because of
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the lie they’re carrying within themselves—and this lie ends up completely alienating them from what is essentially their entire world.
Q: In the film, we see the presence of crystal meth in the Barrow community. How prevalent is that particular drug in Barrow and what is the current state of drug culture there? Have there been major changes in the past decade or so?
MACLEAN: Like many communities across the country, crystal meth is a growing problem in Barrow and other villages in rural Alaska. It's such a dangerous drug, because it's cheap, powerful, easy to transport, and can be instantly addictive. Substance abuse factors into so many of the problems facing rural communities. It contributes to domestic violence, non‐domestic violence for that matter, suicide, joblessness and poverty. I think everyone in a village like Barrow knows someone who's life has been touched by meth. I know I do. While I don't think of the film as a 'message movie', hopefully we can be a part of furthering the discussion of how to fight this drug.
MOREABOUTSIKUMIMacLean’s short work SIKUMI, the first film to be written entirely in the Iñupiaq language, was short‐listed for the 2009 Academy Awards™. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival where it won a Special Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking and has screened at over 50 festivals around the world.
Watch SIKUMI for free in its entirety in HD by visiting the film’s official website: http://www.sikumifilm.net/
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ACONVERSATIONWITHACTORS
JOSIAHPATKOTAKANDFRANKQUTUQIRELANOn attending the call‐back casting intensive and working with Andrew…
JOSIAH: Andrew and I knew each other before any work was done, so it was mostly about getting comfortable around each other. FRANK: For me it went from doing stuff like sitting around the couch with Andrew, my brothers and family to having Andrew suddenly approach me with this audition opportunity. My mom had to literally drag me out of the house to go read for him; it was the day after my birthday—after that, our relationship became more than joking around on the couch. JOSIAH: I was a big character, I guess. I like to joke around with my friends. They told me to go do this. I had known Andrew previously ‘cause I took him out hunting one time and so I went and told him, “Yeah, dude. I can do this.” I went in and did it and it worked! On finding the voices of their characters… FRANK: Andrew explained really well about what he wanted to see; we just gave him what he asked for. JOSIAH: It’s kind of easy to do what he asked of us because we related to the characters quite a bit; we come from hunting backgrounds and know what village life is really like. If you read the script’s physical descriptions of the characters, they sound just like me and Qutuq‐‐one was tall and skinny and the other was shorter and wider. It was a match made in heaven. On village life… FRANK: There’s so much that ties into the village lifestyle that it’d take a lifetime of movies to do it all. There is a glimpse of what this generation’s kids are truly going through—the snow machines and all that other stuff. In Barrow, kids can't wait to go hunting, they can't wait for springtime and they can't wait to go whaling.
JOSIAH: Yeah, I think the film depicts the life of a villager pretty well. It’s bad that there’s murder and drugs, but that stuff also happens. It’s a truth‐telling type of movie.
On hip‐hop and music…
JOSIAH: My brother likes to rap. He’s not much of a talker, but you get him rhyming and he’ll tell some stories. Growing up with him I got into it and do a little rap here and there.
FRANK: Yeah I wasn’t much of a rapper. I listen to that type of music, but I never thought of myself as someone who’d be spitting rhymes.
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On where they’re from…
FRANK: I’m from Nome, but we’re in the same region for basketball as Barrow.
JOSIAH: I’m from Barrow. We’re a really tight‐knit community. We’re really culturally oriented and into embracing traditions like Eskimo dances. But most of the time we’re hunting and interacting with each other in town.
FRANK: Yeah, it was cool in Barrow how everyone was so united.
On shooting on location…
JOSIAH: Shooting on location lasted about a month. We’d do inside scenes when the weather was horrible and outside scenes when it let up. Most of the outside scenes took place on a good weather day, but there were a couple of scenes where I was freezing my butt off.
FRANK: He wasn’t the only one! It was tough shooting out there at night.
JOSIAH: Well, I would’ve been out on the ice anyway. I was gonna go whaling if I didn’t do the movie. Most of the time when we were filming I didn’t want to sit around. I’d crack jokes with the crew and learn about all their jobs. I learned about the work behind the camera. Sometimes I helped out the continuity guy ‘cause I was good at that, or the director of photography. I liked the machine that measures the amount of light that falls on your face.
KEYCAST Qalli Josiah Patkotak
Aivaaq Frank Qutuq Irelan Egasak Teddy Kyle Smith Michelle Adamina Kerr
Uvlu Sierra Jade Sampson James John Miller Aaka Rosabelle Kunnanna Rexford Sigvaun Allison Warden
Dora Tara Sweeney Roscoe Vernon Kanayurak Max Jay Rapoza
Jens Billyjens Hopson Darlene Denae Brower Trace Richard Enlow IV Charlene Tasha Taaqpak Panigeo
KEYCREW Written and Directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
(Treehead Films)
Produced by Cara Marcous (Treehead Films) Produced by Lynette Howell (Silverwood Films) Produced by Marco Londoner and Zhana Londoner Executive Producers Doug Dey, Susanne Adamski, Nick
Quested, Cary Fukunaga
Executive Producers Rick Rosenthal, Nick Morton, Greg Smith Co‐Producer Kate Dean Associate Producers Crystal Powell and Douglas Glickman
Director of Photography Lol Crawley Edited by Nat Sanders Production Designer Chad Keith Costume Designer Courtney McClain
Music by iZLER Sound Designer Bob Edwards Music Supervisor Joe Rudge
Casting by Cara Marcous and Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
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KEYCREWBIOS Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (Writer/Director) is an Iñupiaq filmmaker born and raised in Alaska. His short film Sikumi premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking and went on to many other awards at festivals around the world. Other films include Natchiliagniaqtuguk Aapagalu (Seal Hunting With Dad), which had its premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Kinnaq Nigaqtuqtuaq (The Snaring Madman), which won best short film at the 2006 American Indian Film Festival, Such A Perfect Day, and When The Season Is Good: Artists Of Arctic Alaska, a full length documentary which was a featured screening in the 2007 Arctic Summer Series at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and was acquired for broadcast by ARTE, European Public Television. In 2008, he was named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine.
In his hometown of Barrow, Alaska, he co‐founded the Iñupiat Theater, the first theater company in the country dedicated to performing entirely in the indigenous Iñupiaq language. He also served for three years as the Artistic Director of Stickfigure Productions, a theater company based in Seattle.
He is a recipient of the 2009 Sundance Institute Annenberg Fellowship, a 2008 United States Artists Rasmuson Fellowship, the John H. Johnson Film Award, a 2004 Princess Grace Foundation Graduate Film Fellowship, the 2003‐2004 Martin E. Segal prize, the 2007‐2008 Clive Davis Award for Excellence in Music In Film, and the 2007‐2008 Riese Award. He holds his MFA in film directing from New York University. On the Ice is his first feature.
Cara Marcous (Producer) produced the short narrative film Sikumi, which has won numerous awards including the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and the BAFTA/LA Award for Excellence, and has screened at over 50 festivals around the world. In 2005, she produced the documentary feature When the Season is Good: Artists of Arctic Alaska which premiered at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and was acquired by ARTE. She worked for years with acclaimed independent producer Ben Barenholtz and has produced several plays including the premiere of her own full‐length piece Lapse at Walkerspace in New York City. Ms. Marcous is the recipient of the Sheila Johnson Fellowship for the 2009 Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Creative Producing Initiative. On the Ice is her first narrative feature.
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Lynette Howell (Producer) Lynette Howell most recently produced Blue Valentine directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in performances that garnered Golden Globe nominations for both actors. The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance, Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals and was released by The Weinstein Company December 2010. Ms. Howell also recently completed filming David R. Ellis’ Untitled 3D Shark Thriller which will be released by Relativity Media this summer. She also produced Terri written by Patrick deWitt and directed by Azazel Jacobs, starring Jacob Wysocki and John C. Reilly. The film will be released by ATO Pictures this spring and will premiere in competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Also in competition at Sundance this year is Ms. Howell’s On the Ice written and directed by Sundance Lab alum Andrew Okpeaha Maclean.
Ms. Howell’s previous films include: Half Nelson, directed by Ryan Fleck and starring Ryan Gosling in a performance which garnered him a Best Actor Oscar nomination; Stephanie Daley, starring Oscar winners Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton, and Amber Tamblyn, written and directed by Hilary Brougher; THE PASSAGE by renowned UK theatre director Mark Heller, which premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival; Phoebe in Wonderland, written and directed by Daniel Barnz and starring Elle Fanning which was released by THINKFilm in 2009, The Greatest, starring Pierce Brosnan, Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan, which was released by Mark Urman’s Paladin Releasing in April 2010; The Space Between written and directed by Travis Fine, starring Melissa Leo, Anthony Keyvan and AnnaSophia Robb, which will be released on USA Network on the 10th anniversary of 9/11; and An Invisible Sign Of My Own starring Jessica Alba and Chris Messina.
In 2007 Ms. Howell was named to Variety’s “Ten Producers to Watch” list.
Marco Londoner (Producer) Marco Londoner has worked in film and television for over twenty‐two years. As a Producer, Mr. Londoner most recently completed the production On the Ice, which was filmed entirely within the Arctic Circle. Prior to this, he produced the film Lovely By Surprise (New American Cinema Special Jury Prize) and was both a producer and AD on “The Photographer” (New York Film Festival Vision Award). His varied experience includes work as a 1st AD on such titles as the Emmy winning television series Damages and in feature films, titles such as the Academy Award nominated The Contender as well as Prozac Nation and The Wendell Baker Story. In the reality television field, Mr. Londoner has worked as both Field Producer and Production Manager on such popular shows as America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway. Marco Londoner and Zhana Londoner started their production company Momentary Pictures in January 2010. The company is focused on producing independent, genre pictures and developing television material. Momentary Pictures is based in New York City.
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Zhana Londoner (Producers) has spent the last 15 years working on both film and TV projects such as The Station Agent, Lovely By Surprise, The Restaurant, The Apprentice, Boiling Points, Nike’s Battle Grounds, and more. Her experience in the industry ranges from acting to talent management, from location managing to producing, from development executive to post production. She founded Momentary Pictures with partner, Marco Londoner, to produce independent films with a focus on thought provoking story telling and high production value. Zhana grew up, and currently lives in New York City.
Kate Dean (Co‐Producer) was co‐producer and line producer of the critically acclaimed Winter’s Bone by writer‐director Debra Granik. The film has gone on to win a multitude of awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for a Dramatic Film at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Dean was also line producer of director Ramin Bahrani’s Chop Shop, which Roger Ebert noted as the 6th best film of the decade, and then went on to co‐produce Bahrani’s film Goodbye Solo. In addition to line producing such varied films as Reunion (dir. Alan Hruska) and Ceremony (dir. Max Winkler), Dean has also produced, written and directed the short film Odilia. Prior to entering the film business, Dean ran for political office in New Hampshire.
Lol Crawley (Director of Photography) gained his first feature credit on the film Ballast (directed by Lance Hammer), which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film took home both the Excellence in Cinematography award and dramatic directing award. Ballast went on to play in competition at Berlin and over thirty other international film festivals, winning further awards and much critical praise. His work on Ballast also earned him a nomination in the Best Cinematography category at the 2009 Spirit Awards.
In 2008 Lol’s second feature credit Better Things was invited to premiere in Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to play in competition at the Edinburgh and Toronto International Film Festivals. In November 2008, Lol was named as one of the 10 Cinematographers to Watch by Variety Magazine and he won the best cinematographer award at the 2009 Kiev International Film Festival. Lol’s more recent projects include the feature films Four Lions (in official competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival) and On the Ice (in U.S. dramatic competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival), as well as The Crimson Petal and the White, a dramatic TV series for BBC 2 set to air in Spring 2011.
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Nat Sanders (Editor) is a film editor who has cut the critically‐acclaimed Medicine For Melancholy, nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, and the Sundance Jury Prize‐winning Humpday, recipient of the John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. In 2009, Nat was named of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine. Recent editing credits include the feature film The Freebie and the 2011 Sundance selections On The Ice and My Idiot Brother, the latter as an additional editor.
Chad Keith (Production Designer) is a native of North Carolina and works in the world of Production Design for independent features and projects. His love for photography led him to stepping back and looking at the bigger picture of how a film set is put together. He really enjoys traveling and working on projects that take a deeper look at cultures such as On The Ice. He also has 3 other features in competition this year at Sundance that he designed: Take Shelter and Martha Mary May Marlene in dramatic competition and Restless City in the NEXT category.
Courtney McClain (Costume Designer) holds an MFA in Design for Stage and Film from NYU and a BFA in Theatrical Arts from the University of Florida. Her most recent credits include assistant design to Christopher Peterson on the upcoming series A Legal Mind, and to Juliet Polcsa on the upcoming film Arthur. She has also assisted John Dunn on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and Sandy Powell on Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island. Her career began in theater where she assisted the designer Martin Pakledinaz on Broadway’s Pirate Queen, Pajama Game (2006 Tony Nomination Best Costumes) and Two Gentlemen of Verona at New York's Shakepeare in the Park. Film Design Credits include: Associate Designer to Cassandra Boyd on The Marconi Bros. (2008 Visionfest award for Best Production), Documentary Historical Recreation for the African Burial Ground Museum NY, Little Accidents (Official Selection Sundance 2010) Dir. Sara Colangelo, Us: A Love Story, Dir. Alrick Brown, William’s Christening Dir. Joshua Hume.
iZLER (Composer) (pronounced "eye‐zler") is a Czech born, English raised composer and multi instrumentalist, living in Los Angeles.
Selected in 2008 to be one of six up and coming composers invited to the Sundance Film Composer's Lab in Utah, he is responsible for scores to movies such as Humboldt County, Whatever It Takes and J Van Tulleken’s BAFTA nominated horror Off Season.
He has also written songs for numerous films and TV shows, including ER, My Best Friend’s Girl, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, This Revolution, Thief and Shameless. His song Superblind appears on the new multi platinum selling album by Robbie Williams, produced by Trevor Horn and based on iZLER’s original production and orchestral arrangement.
In 2009, iZLER attended the BMI conducting workshop under Lucas Richman and has continued to study conducting at UCLA, culminating in his first full orchestral score for the movie Hamill, due for release in 2011. He comes to the 2011 Sundance competition with the thriller On The Ice.
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iZLER has in the past toured, recorded and written with artists and producers as diverse as Robbie Williams, Ryan Adams, Dave Stewart, Imogen Heap, Jesse Malin, Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones, Brian May, Holly Johnson, and many others.
FULLCREDITSSilverwood Films presents
in association with Whitewater Films & Goldcrest Films
a Treehead Films production
Unit Production Manager MAURA ANDERSON 1st Assistant Director KIT BLAND 2nd Assistant Director SCOTT FRIEDMAN
Consulting Editor CRAIG MCKAY
Cast
Qalli JOSIAH PATKOTAK Aivaaq FRANK QUTUQ IRELAN Egasak TEDDY KYLE SMITH
Michelle ADAMINA KERR Uvlu SIERRA JADE SAMPSON
James JOHN MILLER Aaka ROSABELLE KUNNANNA REXFORD
(in order of appearance)
Roscoe VERNON KANAYURAK Jens BILLYJENS HOPSON Max JAY RAPOZA
Sigvaun ALLISON WARDEN Darlene DENAE BROWER
Dora TARA SWEENEY Charlene TASHA TAAQPAK PANIGEO
Ellie JERICA AAMODT DJ GAGE SAXTON
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Trace RICHARD ENLOW IV Hand double ANDREI JACOBS
Nathaniel JOHNNIE KUNAQ BROWER Olemaun OLEMAUN REXFORD
Helicopter Pilot JACK PACKER Jimmy THOMAS AHTUANGARUAK JR.
Trooper Tagak ROBERT ALLEN BROUILETTE Teen Girl KATIE ROSEBERRY
Stunt Coordinator CHRIS BARNES
Barrow Dancers
Joseph Napaaqtuq Sage Rosie E Tookak Bailey R Aishanna Olivea Aveoganna Crystal Anngasuk Ora Elavgak
Fred Elavgak Priscilla Sage Isabel Kanayurak Ramona Tuckfield
Jeffrey Aveoganna Ronette Panningona Laura Gordon Russell Snyder
Lilly Aveoganna Stella M Okpeaha Lisa Okpeaha Extras
Aguruk Kaleak Jimmy Kignak Alexsandra Rabadkiysky Lillian Maupin
Allyson Atos Loran Enlow Angelie Rabadjiysky Marjorie Hopson
Annie Saganna Maptigaq Kaleak Anthony Ivanoff Michelle Nayakik
Audrey Saganna Jr. Pamiuq Brower Barbara Towarak Perry Matumeak Brad Weyiouanna Ray Kious Carrie Ann Kignak Richard Enlow IV Charles D Brower Salomi Martin Dick Weyiouanna Sandy Hopson Elizabeth Toovak Steven L. Kaleak Jr
Florence Tagarook William Leavitt Gideon Koonaloak William Saganna Jr.
Greta Stuermer Willie I. Koonaloak James G. Martin Yves Brower Jamie Kanayurak Zeb Tookak
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with additional support fthe Sundance Institute/Annenberg Feature Film Fellowship, the Sundance Institute Cinereach Feature Film Fellowship, the Sundance Institute/Maryland Film Fellowship, and the Sundance Institute’s Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship. This film was made possible in part with support from the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Creative Producing Fellowship and the Sheila C. Johnson Fellowship.
Steadicam JOHNNY RADZIK 1st Assistant Camera JEFF NOLDE 2nd Assistant Camera ANDREW LABOY
Loader JASON ALEGRE Still Photographer SEBASTIAN MLYNARSKI
EPK SASIE SEALY Additional Photography JAMES LEE PHELAN
Additional Camera Assistant SEBASTIAN SLAYTER
Sound Mixer JAMES DEMER Boom Operator DAVID FLEMING
Gaffer ADAM LUKENS
Key Grip JESSICA BENNETT Best Swing KYLE SIMMONS
Script Supervisor DUSTIN BRICKER
Production Accountant MATTHEW MEDLIN
Art Director KAY LEE
Property Master JONATHAN DAVID GUGGENHEIM Art Department Assistant KAET MCANNENY
Art P.A. LILLIAN MAUPIN
Wardrobe Supervisor AMY KRAMER Costume P.A. TASHA TAAQPAK PANIGEO
Hair/Make‐up NICOLE WODOWSKI
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Head Chef/Caterer DELICIOUS DAVID THORNE
Key Chef CHAS BAKI Assistant Chef JERRY AHYAKAK Assistant Chef ASISAUN TOOVAK
Production Coordinator RAY KIOUS
Production Assistant JAY RAPOZA Production Assistant SANDY ILIIYAQ HOPSON Production Assistant JOHN MILLER Production Assistant JAMES LEAVITT
Assistant to Silverwood Films BLAIR RICHMAN Assistant to Treehead Films LILIANA GREENFIELD‐SANDERS
Casting P.A. THERESA KNICKREHM
Ice Captain MAX AHGEAK Ice Guide ROBERT AHGEAK JR.
Ice Drilling Services BARROW ARCTIC SCIENCE CONSORTIUM
Paramedic HEIDI KENNY
Production Legal GRAY KRAUSS DES ROCHERS LLP
Attorneys ANDRE DES ROCHERS, ESQ. NICOLE COMPAS, ESQ.
Production Insurance REIFF & ASSOCIATES, LLC Payroll Company CAST & CREW Financial Services WELLS FARGO
CHASE MANHATTAN Script Clearance Research INDIECLEAR
Camera Equipment PANAVISION Grip & Electric Equipment AK GRIP & LIGHTING
Picture Vehicles MATTIE JO AHGEAK
HUGH PATKOTAK
Production Vehicles UIC CAR RENTAL TUA'I MESUI
Walkie Talkies ROCKBOTTOM RENTALS
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Post Production
Assistant to Composer & Additional Music NATE FINAN Additional Music AARON STERLING
Assistant Editor DYLAN CORRELL
Second Assistant Editor CHRISTINA CHOE
Title Design KRISTYN HUME
Auditor MIKUNDA, COTTRELL & CO.
Post Production Sound Services by
Marin County, California
Supervising Sound Editor BOB EDWARDS
Re‐recording Mixers COLETTE DAHANNE, CAS BOB EDWARDS
Dialogue & ADR Editor CHRIS GRIDLEY Effects Editors NIA HANSEN
COLETTE DAHANNE, CAS Assistant Editor DANIEL SCOLARI
Foley Artist SEAN ENGLAND Foley Mixer NIA HANSEN
Foley Recordist COREY TYLER Mix Technician NATHAN NANCE
Recordist CLINT SMITH Engineering Services DOUG FORD
JIM AUSTIN STEVE MORRIS HOWIE HAMMERMANN
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CLAYTON WOOD
Digital Editorial Services DANNY CACCAVO NOAH KATZ DMITRI MAKAROV
Client Services EVA PORTER SHELLY NAPOLEON MIKE LANE
Special Thanks PHIL BENSON JOSH LOWDEN CARRIE PERRY
Dolby Consultant DAN SPERRY
Anchorage ADR Mixer KURT RIEMANN SURREAL STUDIOS
New York ADR Mixer CORY CHOY SILVER SOUND
Digital Intermediate Finishing Services by
Goldcrest Post Productions
Colorist JOHN DOWDELL III Online Editor PETER HEADY DI Supervisor TIM SPITZER DI Producer JEANNE SISON
Credits VICTOR BARROSO
Our deepest gratitude to the city and residents of Barrow, Alaska Quyanaqpak!
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The Filmmakers Wish To Thank
Alfre Woodard Glenn W. Sheehan Michael Almereyda Alice Rogoff Graham Taylor Michael L. Schenkman, Esq. Allan Hayton Gregory L. Slewett, Esq. Michael Lehmann Anne Lai Guillaume Saladin Michelle Satter
Art Othniel Oomittuk Gyula Gazdag Mike Aamodt Audrey Wells Harcharik Family Molly Pederson Ben Barenholtz Howard Rodman N. Bird Runningwater Benj Whitehouse Ida Olemaun Nakota LaRance Bessie Kowunna Ilyse McKimmie Nok Acker
Beverly Qalu Ahgeak James Gibb Norm Cohn Bill Wheeler James Toovak Olemaun & Thelma Rexford
Blessing Brower Jamie Coghill Oliver Leavitt Bob Crockett Jason Kliot Patkotak Family
Brad Weyiouanna Jay Anania Patti Pearson Bryan Kopp Jay Van Hoy Paul Mayersohn
Caleb Deschanel Jed Dietz Paul Mezey Carol Kunuk Jeff Gorin Peter Brogna
Caroline Libresco Jeff Theilbar Peter Golub Carolyn & Rob Kineen Jelena Tadic Peter Medak Catherine Hardwicke Joan Darling Phillip Blanchett
Charlie Kignak Joan Tewkesbury Pita Aatami Charlotte Brower John Kurlander Randa Haines Christine Kite John Tintori Raymond Atos
Cindy Schumacher Johnny A. Adams Robert Nageak Cindy Tolan Julie Decker Rogier Stoffers
Corey Uałuk Katairoak Kasi Lemmons Romeyn Stevenson Corina & Lance Kramer Kate Tesar Ron Yerxa
Craig Kestel Kathy Ahgeak Ross Katz Cullen Conley Keith Gordon Saganna Family
Dawn Weyiouanna Kelly Alzaharna Sandy Harper
and to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
This film was made possible thanks to a generous donation from the Chris
Columbus / Richard Vague Film Production,
Kanbar Institute of Film & Television, Tisch School of the Arts,
New York University.
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DeAndre Howard Kiogak Ahgeak Sonya Kelliher‐Combs Deena Goldstone Koezuna‐Irelan Family Stephen Alvarez Dennis Davis Lisa Eisler Stephen F. MacLean Dennis Sinook Lisa Ellanna Steve Sammons Diane Kaplan Lisa Fruchtman Susan Atos
Dick Weyiouanna Lisa Okpeaha Susan Peterson Ed Harris MacLean/Mellish Family Susan Shilliday
Eden Wurmfeld Mae Ahgeak Suzy Elmiger Edna MacLean Maija Lukin Sylvia Cloutier Edward Itta Marcos Bernstein Toby E. Boshak
Edwardson Family Marcous Family Todd Graff Eric Robinson Margaret Ferguson Tony Bryant Erica Lord Mark Heyman Tyger Williams Erin Kenny Mark Renk Tyler Bates
Eugene Brower Mary Akpik Wesley Strick Eva Mukpik Mary Ann Turner Wilma Osborne Fannie Ukpik Mary Jane Skalski Yves Brower
Fred D. Eningowuk Maya Salganek Zach Sklar Gail Segal Zacharias Kunuk
Special Thanks To
Alaska Community Foundation Morris Thompson Cultural Center Alaska Native Heritage Center National Board of Review
Arctic Cat Nome Native Arts Center Arctic Grocery North Slope Borough Offices
Arctic Pizza Northern Air Cargo
Barrow High School Northern Village of Kuujjuaq, Katittavik Hall
Barrow Public Works Parts & Labor Barrow Search & Rescue Polaris Industries, Inc.
Boys & Girls Club, Kotzebue Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital
Carhartt Shishmaref Friendship Center City of Barrow Offices Shishmaref High School
Cyrano's Off Center Playhouse Sorel East Coast Pizza Tikigaq Corporation
First Air Tikigaq School International Gallery of
Contemporary Art Top of the World Hotel Iñupiat Heritage Center Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corportation
Ipalook Elementary School United States Artists Iqaluit High School University of Alaska, Anchorage Isuma Productions University of Alaska, Fairbanks
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Music
"One of Those Days" "Uh Ah" Music by Yes King Written Melodic Burgess
By arrangement with Yes King Records Limited Performed by Melodic Courtesy of Songs Of All Ears
"(Ha‐Ha) Slow Down [feat Young Jeezy]" "Arctic Thug" Performed by Fat Joe & Young Jeezy Written by Frank Qutuq Irelan & Torin Jacobs
Courtesy of E1 Music Performed by Frank Qutuq Irelan
“I Dont Think You Love Me Anymore” "Inuktituurunnaliqpili?" Written By Ralph McGee Written by Stacy Milortok, Sandra Milortok &
Performed by Niteflyer (Teddy Barneycastle Matt Tamblyn Robert Mabe Buddy Wolfe Performed by Stacy & Sandra Milortok
Tim Hill Rex and Ralph McGee ©1995 Ralph McGee
Dedicated to the memory of Merata Mita with gratitude for the inspiration and guidance she gave to young indigenous filmmakers all over the world.
✧✧✧ He whakamaharatanga tēnei i a Merata Mita mōna i whakaaweawe, i arahi i ngā kaihanga kiriata rangatahi no ngā iwi taketake puta noa i te ao.
This film was made with funding support from the 2009 Princess Grace
Special Project Award In association with Buffalo Bulldog Films WME Global Finance and Distribution Group Filmed entirely on location in Barrow, Alaska This project was made possible with the support of the State of Alaska and the Alaska Film Office
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names herein are fictitious and any similarity to the name, character or history of any actual
persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
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With Support From Cinereach
Motion Picture Film Provided by