This week, host Shayla Oulette Stonechild sits down in Treaty 13 territory in Tkaronto with the powerhouse duo behind North of North — Stacey Aglok MacDonald (writer/producer, Qanurli, co-founder of Red Marrow Media) and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (filmmaker behind Angry Inuk and Tunniit: Retracing the Lines). Together, the two Inuit creators built Red Marrow Media, produced The Grizzlies, and co-created North of North — the CBC, APTN, and Netflix comedy that broke into Netflix's global top 10 and is now filming its highly anticipated second season.
Stacey and Alethea open up about growing up in Nunavut, the matriarchs who shaped them, and what "matriarchy" really means when leadership in Inuit communities has always been fluid and situational rather than a single figurehead. They trace their creative partnership back twenty years — including the story of how Stacey "found" Alethea on Google before they ever met — and get candid about the real emotional and logistical weight of following the heavy, important work of The Grizzlies with something joyful, funny, and unapologetically commercial.
This conversation covers the wild specifics of building a global show from the Arctic: pitching networks who'd never seen anything like it, budgeting for real Inuit-designed high fashion (no knockoffs allowed), filming in -40°C, working with an intimacy coordinator on that Season one kiss, and watching their communities go from skeptical to fiercely proud. They also dig into resilience essentials — handling criticism, repairing conflict, and why "no regrets" collaborations are built on trust, not just talent. A rich, funny, moving conversation about matriarchal leadership, Indigenous storytelling, and building something the industry never expected.
00:00 Welcome and meet the guests
01:59 Growing up in Iqaluit
03:10 One word for Season 2: mastery
03:59 Stacey's roots and her badass mom
06:39 What matriarchy means to them
09:43 How they met
11:48 Where their love of storytelling began
15:49 Separate paths, sealskin shorts and building skills
19:55 Teaching themselves to produce
23:18 Making film in the North
25:20 The Grizzlies and deciding to co-produce
29:34 Where North of North began: choosing joy
33:29 Pitching a bold, contemporary Arctic show
37:48 That infamous kiss scene
40:05 What's coming in Season 2
43:39 Acting in -40°
44:50 How Nunavut responded to the show
49:34 Real Inuit fashion on screen
53:18 Advice for emerging filmmakers
56:47 The future of Inuit film
59:03 Being a power couple and taking criticism
01:03:10 Walking into the writing room, and where to watch
01:04:41 Follow the guests, and will there be Season 3?
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