Casting call for all-female northern fantasy thriller

Northwest Territories and Yukon residents are joining forces to produce a feature-length dystopian fantasy thriller – and they want you to star in it.

The film, called Polaris, centres around a young girl who escapes capture from people who want her mother dead. She has to find her way home in a world that is “forever-winter” and known for its brutality toward women.

Casting for the all-female, any-ethnicity cast will take place in Whitehorse over the October 26-27 weekend. If you can’t make it in person, you can still get in touch with the producers and send in a taped audition.

Polaris will be filmed in Whitehorse over February and March 2020. Depending on the role, actors may be needed for just a few days of camera work through to nearly three weeks.

“We are looking for diversity in look, size, and ages ranging from 9–90,” reads a casting call for the paid positions.

The lead is a young teen named Sumi who grew up on the land. The producers are looking for someone who can show a range of emotions without talking, as the character has no lines.

They are also casting a teenage Frozen Girl, who “has a sweetness to her that is fairytale-like;” Dee, a senior wise woman; and four young to middle-aged warriors: Stag, Greenie, Red, and Horns.

The feature is being produced by the NWT’s Kirsten Carthew and the Yukon’s Max Fraser, who joined forces to create production company Little Dipper Films.

In July, the producers pitched their film – inspired by Carthew’s 2015 Dead North short Fish Out of Water – in Montréal at Frontières, a film industry fair. They were hoping to make connections that could help them fund the remaining 35 percent of their $2-million film.

At the time, Carthew said the producers met with 60 people during back-to-back meetings over three-and-a-half days.

“In terms of an opportunity, it was extraordinary. It could not have gone better in terms of engaging interest from key industry players,” she told Cabin Radio.

In 2016, Carthew released The Sun at Midnight, a full-length feature shot entirely in the NWT.