'Arctic Daughter' documentary hosted at UAF March 27
March 21, 2018
The UAF Resource Management Society and the Northern Alaska Environmental Center will
host a screening of “Arctic Daughter: A Lifetime of Wilderness” and an evening with
filmmakers Jean Aspen and Tom Irons.
The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. March 27 in Schaible Auditorium. The documentary
is the second in a planned trilogy by Aspen, and it includes historic footage of her
childhood in the Arctic, photographs and high-definition video. Aspen returned to
the Brooks Range as a young woman to build a cabin, raise her son and live off the
land.
Aspen described the documentary this way, “Beginning with my childhood in the Arctic,
I am drawn repeatedly back to the solitude of Alaska’s Brooks Range where my dreams
are tested against starvation and fifty below. ‘Arctic Daughter’ is ultimately about following one’s heart beyond a beaten trail and finding beauty
in life’s mysterious unfoldings.”
The documentary was made with her husband, who shot most of the footage, and was edited
by Homer filmmaker Brian George Smith. It premiered at the Anchorage Film Festival
Dec. 10. A Q&A with Aspen and Irons will follow the screening. Aspen also wrote two
books about her experiences, “Arctic Daughter: A Wilderness Journey” and “Arctic Son:
Fulfilling the Dream.”
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and are free for kids 12 and younger.
Tickets are available at www.northern.org or at the door. The Resource Management Society is a UAF student group interested
in natural resources management issues.