I wrote this screenplay. It was my sixth screenplay and my only to make it to celluloid. I also worked on the set as assistant director. We had a young and eager crew and cast.
A lot of good lines fell to the floor -- some to pacing, some to poor performance, some to my inability to communicate my vision to the cast and director.
Here's my favorite lost line: Jake tells Viktoria "We'll get you home. If Chick has to swim the Bering Strait pulling a rowboat with a rope between his teeth, I promise, we'll get you home." After considering his promise, Viktoria replies, "Atlantic would be longer swim."
The exteriors were shot in a small town southeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The interiors were done on the director's sound stage in Cascade, Michigan.
Natalia Nazarova has gone on to become a successful screenwriter in Moscow. I have lost touch with Tantoo Cardinal.
Watching the film is like watching one of my children. It's hard to see them stumble forward in life, sometimes making the right choice, sometimes not. But I am fortunate and proud that they are out there trying.
In response to the questions raised by lyonslib, it could have been set in any small town anywhere. When it came time to choose the name of the town, we went for Paradise for the implications, not the location, and unfortunately, our duct tape, tinfoil and, chewing gum budget did not allow us to move the cast and crew to the Upper Penninsula for filming. Already facing the challenge of writing a story where the central character was a young Russian girl, I choose not to refer to the actual Paradise and not to paint the locals as Yoopers. There are a few references to locations near the small town of Freeport where we were shooting (Gun Lake, Cascade, East Grand Rapids).