North of North series, made in Iqaluit, premieres at home

Nunavummiut packed Iqaluit's Astro Theatre Monday night to catch two sold-out screenings of a show that was filmed on their doorsteps.

North of North, a new Netflix series shot in Iqaluit, held its premiere in the Nunavut capital on Monday. 

The show, which was co-commissioned by CBC and Netflix in association with APTN,  takes place in the fictional community of Ice Cove, shot in Iqaluit. After a spontaneous, and public, exit from her marriage, the show's main character Siaja tries to find her way on her own. 

The series was co-created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril of Red Marrow Media, who also created The Grizzlies. 

"Bringing a show like this to a global audience is something that we couldn't even fathom or dream about in the very beginnings of creating this show," Aglok MacDonald said. 

Arnaquq-Baril said even though it's fictional, the show's story is relatable not only to other Inuit, but to people all over the world. 

"I think a lot of Inuit will definitely see the show and feel like they can recognize a lot of the characters, like that could be their mother, that could be their sister, that could be their boss. While it's fictional, it's definitely based on our life experiences," Arnaquq-Baril said. 

Anna Lambe, an actress from Iqaluit who plays Siaja, said she jumped on the opportunity to work with Arnaquq-Baril and Aglok MacDonald. 

"We're not just one thing in this show. We're, we're so many things, which is how we actually exist. And I think people are going to be really, really proud, really excited," Lambe said. "And I think we just deserve to have something really, really funny and see ourselves being funny because we are so funny," she said. 

With the show being made available to people all over the world through Netflix, Lambe said it's an opportunity to bring Nunavut to a global audience. 

"I think sometimes people only understand Inuit as like a historical people — [like] we don't exist anymore, we're something that happened in history and then we all got wiped out," Lambe said. 

"Our day-to-day lives might look a little bit different. It might look a little bit colder. But at the end of the day, we do all the same things. And we have goals and dreams and hopes. And, you know, all I want is for people to see Inuit as Inuit, you know, Inuit as people and that we have so many incredible, funny, exciting stories to tell and that we're still here."

"We're still here and we're going to stay here."

The show features actors from Nunavut and was shot in the spring of 2024. 

"We wanted the show to feel real. While the town is fictional, we wanted to feel like that could be my town. There's no way we could do this show without having people from our community in there," Arnaquq-Baril said. 

Aglok MacDonald said it was crucial to film a show about the Arctic, in the Arctic.

"It's incredibly challenging doing something of this scale in the Arctic," Aglok MacDonald said. "It cannot be replicated anywhere." 

For Arnaquq-Baril, the show is a way to connect Nunavut with the rest of the world. 

"In the North, we have such a strong sense of community," Arnaquq-Baril said. "And we think that we have something to teach the big cities all around the world about what it means to live in community and be there for each other."

A comedy with heart 

The show is ultimately a comedy, but also digs deep into serious subjects, Aglok MacDonald said. 

"Making North of North a comedy was the most authentic way to tell this story. We're people that love to laugh," Aglok MacDonald said. 

"It leans comedy, but there's also a lot of heart," she added. 

Arnaquq-Baril said there's also a lot of joy. 

"We wanted to make a show that we wanted to watch night after night and leave people with an authentic experience that doesn't skirt around the issues of colonial trauma but also leaves you feeling warm and joyful," she said. 

Ippiksaut Friesen, who lives in Iqaluit, was one many who attended Monday's premier. 

"It was really emotional, really funny. Lot of laughs. It was just really hilarious," Friesen said. 

"There were a lot of things that hit really close to home. I'm really grateful to have Inuit representation in the show," Friesen added. 

The show's first two episodes will premiere on CBC and APTN on Jan, 7 and worldwide on Netflix in the spring of 2025.