Herschel
Kelly Milner, Shot in the Dark Productions
Language: English
Based On: Original Screenplay
Project Type: Feature Film (Doc)
Genre: Documentary
Stage of Development: Late development
Estimated Length (minutes): 22 x 6
Total Budget: TBD
Currency: $ CAD
What is this project seeking?
Financing, Broadcaster, Co-production Partner
Logline:
HERSCHEL re-examines a long-forgotten Arctic murder case that shaped the fate of a people, the history of a nation, and the borders of the world.
Synopsis:
HERSCHEL is a six-part investigative documentary series that revisits a largely forgotten 1922 murder trial on Herschel Island (Qikiqtaruk), off Yukon’s Arctic coast: the only court proceeding ever held in the Western Arctic. Two Inuit men were tried and executed by the Canadian government. Though the case has faded from national memory, its consequences continue to shape Canada’s identity as an Arctic nation.
Using the trial as a narrative engine, the series expands outward to examine how colonial law, myth-making, and geopolitical ambition converged in the North. Through archival research, contemporary forensic analysis, cinematic recreations, and Inuit perspectives, HERSCHEL interrogates whose stories were preserved, whose were silenced, and how sovereignty was asserted in this remote region.
As climate change accelerates Arctic ice melt and global powers turn their attention to shipping routes, resources, and security, the questions raised by this century-old case feel urgently contemporary. Each episode is told from a unique perspective and layers historical investigation with thematic inquiry; exploring Inuit culture, colonial expansion, environmental transformation, and the evolving narratives of the Arctic.
Rather than delivering a single verdict, HERSCHEL embraces ambiguity. It positions the land itself as witness to shifting borders and enduring memory, asking not only what happened in 1922, but how nations construct justice and how history – and storytelling – continues to shape the future of a rapidly changing North.
Contact Information: kelly@shotinthedarkmedia.com
