TIFF 2026: Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak of IN ALASKA

Inspired by true events, In Alaska is a dramatic crime thriller constructed with a unique Indigenous voice. Prior to its world premiere at this year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, writer/directors Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak spoke to Film Inquiry about what makes In Alaska such a special project.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Wilson Kwong, Film Inquiry: I know the story of In Alaska is based on a true event, but how did you two choose this particular story, as opposed to other stories you could have told?

Jaap van Heusden: Somebody told me about this guy who shot at the oil pipeline and then got in big trouble and had to flee all the way across the border to Canada. So I guess people are constantly telling you stories, and nowadays, with the exposure to stories from all over the globe through the internet, some of those stories stick. And in this case, I actively tried to get rid of it because I felt that there’s helicopters, there’s an oil pipeline that needs to be spraying, there’s the FBI. Lots of problems for filmmakers. Nice problems, but you need to find a lot of money to be able to do it in a good way.

And Vinnie, what about the story appealed to you?

Vinnie Karetak: So Jaap did have a broad strokes idea, but still in its early stages. He’d been working on it by that point for a couple of years. And this is what I love best about him; he didn’t want to be that European guy who wrote Inuit parts, especially when there are Inuit writers who could help him with the script, and I felt drawn towards some of the stuff that he had written before. We kept having more and more conversations, and he kept asking more and more questions and seeking input. After a few weeks of back and forth, we formalized the partnership in writing the script, and that began a five-year journey of just the writing side.

How was it collaborating with one another, especially given that you both come from different backgrounds, with the project perhaps being a bit more personal to Vinnie. Did you have a lot of different opinions on where to take the story or how to approach the film?

JVH: For me, it felt natural. I found it very interesting that when I started going up north, they have very different ideas about property, and intellectual property, and the fact that you own land is quite a new concept. This boy that I just met who was traveling from Europe and told me the spark of the film, he also heard it from someone else. And then I’m telling it to people and they’re saying, “Oh, maybe you should talk to Vinnie.” And then Vinnie hears the story and he starts to add from his experience. Because he’s talented, funny and a good storyteller, it resonates.

VK: I think the way we complimented each other was Jaap knew how to write down the stuff I said, and I couldn’t remember what I said five minutes before. And that’s been a constant problem of mine, especially with writing. I have to either write it down now, or someone else has to be there to take the notes.

Was it difficult to shoot on location? Especially with the harsh terrain and weather.

VK: It was [difficult] having two different systems clashing in the Arctic at the same time. One side is learning how to function [in] the Canadian way of filming in the Arctic. And the other one is like, “Who are these guys who don’t know the Canadian way of working and learning how to work in the Arctic at the same time?” So there was this dual struggle happening at the same time. And then there were some of us who were actually from here saying, “Just put on more socks, eat better food.” Our struggles were all different, but we made it work somehow.

JVH: Vinnie was very clear that if we wanted to shoot in Nunavut, then we should try to shoot in Nunavut. But to do that, for example, there’s things that you don’t expect. If you go out on the ice, it’s totally fine if you have a Ski-Doo, and you put both the gear and people in it because it’s a totally safe way to move them. But once we started shooting, we hear from these big insurance companies that you cannot put the people in there. Then suddenly you are in a community where everybody uses these things to move people. But the insurance company says no, so then you have to find other way to move people on the ice and that gave big headaches to our producers. So there’s these challenges, not just with the cold, but also how to move people through that environment.

The next question is more for Vinnie. Something I hear quite often is how North American stories about marginalized populations, whether they’re Indigenous or Asian immigrants, tend to focus on the negative and challenging things they experience (as opposed to more positive and uplifting ones). During the development process, was there any discussion about this?

VK: As the name implies, the story started out in Alaska and then ends up in Canada. But our story is not as American as it sounds, where the good guys always win. And it’s not a Disney happy ending that we mainly see in American movies. We wanted to tell a real story, but not make our past experiences be front and center. It’s just a fact of life, and we made it as subtle as we could because we don’t need to rehash those old things. But I didn’t want to shy away from those things that happened to us just so that the audience could feel better about what they’re going through now. It’s about someone who’s lived generations through it and now is thriving at the end. We have a real story that we wanted to talk about through some fictionalized characters, and so this is true storytelling.

The story also starts off quite dark, but there’s quite a few moments of brevity as well.

JVH: So it starts out pretty dark, but it also has to because the movement of the film is towards the light. So if you start out in the light, then there’s no movement or transition. And I think another thing that is very important that Vinnie also helped bring to the project, was Leo’s (Leo Matthew Temela) sense of humour. During our tests with audiences, you feel that the way that Leo portrays Woody is totally lost and random, drawing out laughter and smiles. And so people can feel the weight of what’s going on, but they also can take it in a lighter way. I also think the concept of a cop chasing him around and he’s getting away, that also helps to not make things heavy for the sake of them being heavy.

You mentioned test screening audiences, but has the film been shown to a lot of people in the local communities as well? Or is this all waiting until the premiere at TIFF?

VK: We’ve had one test screening in Toronto with an audience, and then on my side of things, I’ve shown rough copies to a few people and it’s been very well-received. But these people also tend to be artists or filmmakers, and not your average regular moviegoer.

JVH: Similarly, we did tests here in the Netherlands, and it’s always great to see how people respond and how they make the film richer with their own lived experience. I think TIFF is a really wonderful place to start with the film, and I’m really looking forward to that big venue and all the people that will be there. Of course, it’s also a little bit scary because people are free and they can respond in whichever way they like, but I really look forward to what they will do with it.

We want to thank Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak for speaking with us. In Alaska premiered at TIFF on September 11 and is still seeking U.S. distribution.