Arts and Entertainment

Art Beat: Northern horror films wanted; Colony House Museum revisits a chilly past

The deadline for entering the fifth annual Dead North Film Festival will be Nov. 30. The Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, festival helps novice and established movie-makers living anywhere north of 60 degrees latitude to submit ideas for a short film (10 minutes or less) in the horror, sci-fi, thriller and fantasy genres. Those who get picked will get mentorship to make the film in a matter of nine weeks during the darkest, coldest part of the Canadian winter. Finished projects will be screened at Yellowknife's Capitol Theatre Feb. 23-26.

In the past four years, the Dead North folks have helped produce some 50 films, most of which can be viewed at vimeo.com/deadnorth/collections.

The admission fee is $100 per team, which is cheap compared to what it's going to cost to get to Yellowknife if your film is picked. Festival details and registration information is available at deadnorth.ca.

Book profiles Rasmuson recipients

The University of Alaska Press has released "Creative Alaska: A Ten-Year Retrospective of Support for Alaska Artists, 2004-2013." Edited by Sven Haakanson Jr. and Amy Steffian, the book profiles the Rasmuson Foundation's distinguished artists, fellowship recipients and project awards during the period of the subtitle. The big, glossy volume includes 232 color plates.

Art acquired for Kodiak museum

With support from the Rasmuson Foundation, the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak has recently acquired three new pieces of fine art for its permanent collection. The pieces include a traditional spruce root basket by Arlene Skinner, a bear assemblage by Alvin Amason titled "Big Sum Bich #2," and another multimedia piece, "Ituwik Grandpa," by Lena Amason-Berns.

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Reliving the old days

Finally, we received this amusing note from the Colony House Museum in Palmer. "The Museum furnace decided to hibernate during our cold snap. Unfortunately, the parts needed for repairs were delayed so our little house was cold for a few days. Like tough colonists we carried on with our scheduled school tours. Children and docents alike experienced the 'hard times' of the colonists during those cold winter days of the '30s."

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham was a longtime ADN reporter, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print. He retired from the ADN in 2017.

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