The story involves a teenager in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, who grapples with identity, an alcoholic mother and an abusive stepfather. Authorities send him to a remote children's home, where he takes part in a dangerous seal hunting trip and what looks like a delightful but chilly camping excursion on the ice via dog sled.
The 90-minute movie features an all-Greenlandic cast and stunning Fred Machetanz-type scenery -- a lot of it. Cinematographers just love those glimmering, pristine arctic landscapes. The narrative's a bit thin, but Ole-Jorgen Hammeken, in the lead adult role of Ikuma, the hunter, impressively reminded me of Charles Bronson, particularly when he was squinting through a rifle sight at a seal.
Closer to home, the film that will be presented just ahead of "Inuk" at the opening night gala is an all-Alaska product. "Day In Our Bay: Views & Voices from Bristol Bay" is a documentary using "community-based digital storytelling" sponsored by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation.
Last month the corporation arranged for 150 mini digital cameras to be made available to shareholders to record various aspects of local life on a single day, Oct. 15. It appears to have been arranged as a contest. Eleven professional photographers and videographers assisted the citizen documentarians in 13 Bristol Bay communities, working as "video mentors," helping with technical details -- like how to get sound you can actually hear.
Veteran filmmakers Mary Katzke and Taylor Segrest administered and edited the project, working the footage (if that's the right word for digital moving images) into a finished product that will debut at the film festival.
"Day In Our Bay" subjects range from skinning a spruce hen to touring abandoned canneries to making akutaq. Perhaps because the interviewed parties were working with people they knew and with whom they were often related, the resulting film has "an earnestness and authenticity that I've not seen before in the personal documentation of this lifestyle," Katzke said.
Doors will open at 7:20 p.m. on Friday for the gala at Bear Tooth Theatrepub, 1230 W. 27th Ave. Both "Day In Our Bay" and "Inuk" will be rescreened at the Alaska Experience Theatre in the Fourth Avenue Marketplace on Dec. 8. The festival will run from Dec. 2-11.
More information about the event, screenings, films, workshops and other events, will be published in Friday's edition of Play and can also be found online at anchoragefilmfestival.org.
Natives in cinema
Staying with the movies for a minute, we're received word that veteran actress and periodic politician Diane Benson will be teaching a course at UAA next semester titled "Alaska Native and Native Americans in Contemporary Film." The course (AKNS A290/004) will involve discussions on the impact of film imagery on society, what it's really like to work on a film project and -- oh yeah -- watching movies. "Bring your own popcorn," says the professor.
Jeff Silverman, the director of "For the Rights of All," in which Benson played Alaska civil rights pioneer Elizabeth Peratrovich, will also have a class at UAA, a one credit course in screen writing (CWLA A259) on five Monday nights.
Related, but not film-wise, Benson is also teaching "Alaska Native Women Surviving Violence: Societal Attitudes and Response" (AKNS A490/001). For more information about either course contact UAA's Alaska Native Studies department at 786-6135.
Wassail on the walls
Scott Clendaniel, the artist who painted the "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" installation at the Midnight Sun Brewing Company last year, is back with another show of paintings on his favorite subject. Various portraits of some of the company's most popular beers will be on display as First Friday meeds First Firkin' Friday at 5 p.m. on Dec. 2. The subject matter was chosen based on a poll taken on the artist's Facebook page about fans' favorite Midnight Sun brews. Visit www.beerpainting.com for more information. Clendaniel, a 2009 graduate of UAA and member of the great Northern Brewers Club also indulges in plein air landscapes and in-studio abstracts.
Reichman at Perseverance
We'd be remiss in our roundup of holiday shows if we didn't note the production of "A Christmas Carol" at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, even if as a footnote. True, few but Panhandlers (that is, residents of Southeast Alaska) will have the chance to see it, but it will feature one of Southcentral's favorite thespians in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Dick Reichman, a stalwart as an actor, director and playwright in Anchorage theater circles, will be joined by nine adults and 12 children on the stage. The show, in a traditional Victorian setting with period music, is directed by Ryan Conarro opened Friday and runs through Dec. 24. If you plan to be in Juneau, check about tickets at www. perseverancetheatre.org.
As part of an effort to expand professional theater to a greater statewide audience, Perseverance will bring two productions to Anchorage next year, "Blue Bear," on Feb. 10-12 and "A Raisin in the Sun," April 13-15.
Reach Mike Dunham at mdunham@adn.com or 257-4332.
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