Nome to Shishmaref to Kotzebue

We left Nome last Sunday after having had a fantastic casting process there. We met a lot of very talented people. Nome showed up! Aarigaaaa Nome! Our most sincere thanks go out to everyone at the Nome Native Arts Center, especially Lisa Ellanna, Wilma Osborne and our friend Marilyn Koezuna-Irelan for all their enthusiasm and hands-on support. Your generosity and positivity are inspiring and infectious. Thank you! For those that know Marilyn here's a great picture of her and her adorable granddaughter Owaluk.



We felt lucky to get the chance to get back to Shishmaref. Andrew and I were there in the summer of 2008 researching a documentary on the environmental issues Shishmaref is facing (erosion, high water, and intense storms related to climate change). This time we got to see what Shishmaref is like in the fall with a real snap of Arctic cold (20 below before wind chill) and some snow on the ground. Chilly and beautiful.

We were able to visit with some old friends and meet a bunch of talented people from the community excited about On the Ice. Shishmaref is a small village of about 800 so we got the word out pretty quickly on the local scanner. For those who don't know, this is what it looks like:







We did the casting at the Shishmaref school and the IRA Friendship Center. Here's a pic of us in the middle of a casting session in the school's carving room.



There are no restaurants in Shishmaref so we did a fair amount of cooking in our very simple kitchen.



We stayed in a trailer with no running water, but we were able to pull together some tasty meals with the help of our friend Dennis. Dennis has a very creative flair when it comes to cooking, and one night he invented a new Eskimo classic we'd thought you'd get a kick out of. Here's a quick video of how to make "reindeer tartare." (Sorry about the weird squashed proportion, still figuring out how to use Compressor.)



Thanks to everyone at the IRA and at the Shishmaref School, in particular Fred Eningowuk and Principal Steve Sammons respectively.

We're in Kotzebue now and already feel right at home. The incredibly warm and welcoming Maija Lukin and Corina Kramer are helping us get the word out with gusto. These ladies know how to rally the troops. I'll write more soon on Kotzebue, but here's my favorite picture so far from just outside the airport.

Casting starts today in Nome

It feels good to be back in Nome. We were here in 2005 while we were shooting Sylvester Ayek (a carver and sculptor) for the documentary When the Season is Good: Artists of Arctic Alaska. We were waiting for the weather to clear for us to follow Sylvester out to King Island to film him where he grew up. The weather didn't cooperate for a while so we got to spend a solid chunk of time here in Nome with him and other friends in town. We stopped back here in summer 2008 on our way to Shishmaref and got to see a few friends, but it's nice to be here this time for more than just a layover.

Here's a picture of the sunset on our way to Milano's for some dinner last night. Andrew took it on his phone so it doesn't do it justice, but it's the view across the street from where we're staying.



We went over this afternoon and met Laureli Kinneen at the local radio station KNOM and got a chance to chat about the film and our casting process on air for a few minutes. We also got our casting flyer on Nome Announce (Nome's version of Craigslist) and the community TV channel so we're hoping the word is out. But just to make sure, the wonderful Lisa Ellanna at the Nome Native Arts Center helped us put together this easel and we stationed it at a busy corner downtown for everyone to see who drives by. Guerilla marketing!



Auditions start tonight at 6pm at the Nome Native Arts Center which is inside the King Island Tribal Offices at 706 East 4th Street.

Casting details for Nome

Here's a cool picture from Nome in 2005 when we were making our documentary When the Season is Good: Artists of Arctic Alaska.



Our Nome auditions begin this Thursday at the Nome Native Arts Center in the King Island Tribal Offices.

For anyone interested in coming by, here are the details:

Nome Native Arts Center in the King Island Tribal Offices
706 East 4th Street

Thursday, October 29th -- 6-10pm
Friday, October 30th -- 6-10pm
Saturday, October 31st -- 1-4pm

You are welcome to come any time within that time, but it's better to come Thursday if you can. If we are considering you for a role we might ask you to come back on Friday or Saturday as well. If you come Thursday, it gives us more time to get to know you!

We are hoping to meet anyone ages 17 to 70. All roles are Inuit and you must be comfortable acting in English.

We are casting a bunch of teenage roles, as well as a few adult men and women who are supposed to be in their early 40s. We are also casting one Aaka (grandmother) who speaks some Iñupiaq.

WE ARE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN MEETING YOUNG MEN AGES 17-25 and ADULT MEN 34-45! This is a very unique opportunity to experience acting and filmmaking with a Sundance award-winning director! Don't miss your chance to be a part of it!

Please note: We want to meet anyone interested in acting and filmmaking because we hope to make many films in and about the Arctic. If you aren't right for any parts in On the Ice, it's still worth coming because you might be right for a different film we want to make in the future.

Hope to see you soon! Feel free to email us any time if you have any questions at casting@ontheicethemovie.com.