One of the Northwest Territories (NWT) film industry’s greatest success stories continued its impressive release drive last weekend at the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) and one of its leads walked away with one of the largest prizes from the weekend’s program.
The Sun at Midnight screened twice during the festival — once to a sold-out crowd — and was well-received by attendees, distributors, and festival judges alike. The film competed in the festival’s Borsos Competition — a category for Canadian productions.
Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, who played the film’s 16-year-old protagonist, took home WFF’s Best Performance in a Borsos Competition Film Award. The festival described her performance as “pitch perfect…A simply jaw dropping turn as an actor.”
The Sun at Midnight was produced by NWT production company Jill & Jackfish Productions helmed by film veterans Amos Scott and Kirsten Carthew. The pair was on-hand at the festival, with Scott also participating in the Aboriginal Filmmaker Fellowship.
The film received funding under the NWT Film Rebate Program, administered by the Government of the Northwest Territories’ (GNWT) Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment — the first local production to access funds from the program.
NWT Film Commissioner Camilla MacEachern was also at the festival representing the NWT film sector, promoting the spectacular sights, sounds, and talent of the NWT, and building the network necessary to push the local industry to the next level.
GNWT investments in film marketing and funding enhancement support recommendations outlined in Take One: A Film Strategy and Action Plan for the NWT.
The GNWT congratulates the film’s team on their continued success.
Quick fact
- Jill & Jackfish Productions have been officially invited to participate in the European Film Market in Berlin to showcase The Sun At Midnight to international buyers in February 2017.
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