Nunavut youths head to major film fest for premiere of Pangnirtung sci-fi movie

Ten-year-old Frankie Vincent-Wolfe sums up the prospect of making the trip from Iqaluit, Nunavut, to watch herself on screen at a major Texas film festival in a single phrase: 

"It's going to be weird — but good."

You could even say it'll be out of this world. After all, Frankie and her sister Alexis play two of the characters in Slash/Back — a film about girls battling an alien invasion in Pangnirtung, a hamlet on Baffin Island.

The film stars Iqaluit's Tasiana Shirley, 16, who plays the lead role of Maika. Maika convinces her friends to sneak out of town for a day, and, while exploring the beautiful land around Pangnirtung, they are attacked by a polar bear that looks and acts strangely.

Is it an Ijiraq — a monster from Inuit legend? Or something else?

The bear is no match for Maika, who wounds it with her rifle. The girls return to town, and — a party and a dare later — one of them returns to hunt down the bear and instead discovers aliens hiding within the skins of their prey.

Frankie, who plays Maika's little sister Aju, was eight when the film started shooting in 2019, and she hasn't seen the final cut yet. She'll see it in March, along with a horde of other people, at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Its first screening is set for March 13.

"It's really exciting, but I'm nervous at the same time — I'm shy and I'm going to be watching myself for the first time," Frankie explained.

Shirley said she hopes the film, which shows the views and mountains in Pangnirtung, gives people a feel for what it's like to live in the Arctic.

"I'm just really hoping they enjoy it and have fun while watching it, because it's a fun movie," she said.

Nyla Innuksuk, Slash/Back's director, said South By Southwest has a reputation for showing "genre movies" like horror films. Her film blends elements of adventure, horror and science fiction.

"I think the Austin crowd in particular is going to be really open to that kind of story," she said.

From start to finish

Slash/Back is Innuksuk's first feature film, written by herself and Ryan Cavan. Innuksuk said she chose Pangnirtung as the setting for the film because "it's really one of the most beautiful places on the planet."

"It is magical to be there, particularly in the spring and summer with its 24-hour sunlight and surrounding fjords," she said.

It's also a special place for her personally. Her sister-in-law and nephews — one of whom acts in the film — are from there.

"My nephews are my favourite thing, and I love the idea that they can grow up with an alien invasion movie shot in their home town," she said.

Innuksuk said the road to premiering this film has been full of hurdles. Most of it was filmed in 2019, and plans to return to Pangnirtung to finish filming got delayed because of the pandemic.

Innuksuk said during that initial filming, they had to figure out logistical challenges — such as where to house an entire cast and crew in a community already facing housing pressures.

"What we ended up doing — and it really was the only way we could make the movie — is we went to the principals at the high school and grade school and we asked if we could move into the schools during the summer," she recalled.

"We shipped up nearly 60 beds and mattresses, and we turned all of the classrooms into housing for people."

Iqaluit's Nalajoss Ellsworth, 14, said staying in Pangnirtung while acting in the film was a lot of fun. She plays Uki, one of Maika's best friends who goes to hunt down the strange bear.

"There's a lot of things I learned on set," she said.

She shares Frankie's sentiment on how weird it will be to see the film screened in front of a large audience, but she's looking forward to it too. She also thinks it sets a good example for other youth in the north.

"I think it'll be a great experience for other Inuit children to look at and see that they could act, too."

Chelsea Prusky, 17, played the role of Leena, another of Maika's friends.

She said she was in disbelief the first time she watched the film. She's proud of all the people who took part, and says it's "mindblowing" to think of herself as an actor.

"When we were doing the tryouts for the characters, I didn't think that I would ever be in such a real movie," she said.

"I'm speechless when people ask about it because I'm so beyond happy that now it's going to be premiering."

Innuksuk said the film is destined for a few more film festivals, though she can't say which ones yet. Her team is planning a special screening in Pangnirtung, too.