Director Kirsten Carthew’s The Sun at Midnight, the first Telefilm-supported feature film to be produced in the Northwest Territories, will be shown on theatre screens in Australia this July, according to a media release issued today by its producers.
“The film has screened at over 50 festivals and traveled around the world, winning awards in the USA and Canada and traveling the world to screenings in India, China, Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Algeria,” reads the release.
Filmed in and around the small NWT community of Fort McPherson in 2016, the film stars Devery Jacobs (Rhymes for Young Ghouls), Duane Howard (The Revenant) and many actors from our territory. It tells the story of Lia, a city girl of Gwich’in heritage, who is sent to live with her grandmother following the passing of her mother. After trouble fitting into her new surroundings, Lia steals a fishing boat and tries unsuccessfully to escape to Whitehorse. Broke down and stranded in the wild, she meets and befriends a solitary hunter who is searching for a lost caribou herd. It was co-produced by the Gwich’in Tribal Council.
The film succeeds in presenting both the beauty of the NWT’s Beaufort Delta region and the culture of the Gwich’in people.
The film has won several awards in its festival travels, including Best Narrative Feature at the Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas, Bursos Award for Best Overall Performance (Jacobs) at the Whistler Film Festival and Leo Awards for best editing and best original score.
available on dvd & blu-ray
The news release also indicates the film is available on DVD and Blu-Ray in limited quantities locally in Yellowknife. They can be purchased at Birchwood Coffee K’o, Western Arctic Moving Pictures, or directly from producer Amos Scott.
For more information about the film, visit www.thesunatmidnightmovie.com.
Scott Clouthier is a filmmaker, editor and colourist based in Hay River, NWT. He is a former Vice President and Executive Director of the NWTPMA.