Roughly every major city has experienced or is experiencing gentrification, so locals reclaiming their stories is important.

In The North Pole, filmmakers Darren Colston, Josh Healey and Yvan Iturriaga tackle gentrification, global warming and gluten-free donuts in the ever-evolving city of Oakland, California. Ecological justice organization, Movement Generation, executive produces.

The North Pole will showcase in a special premiere screening on Thursday, September 7th at Oakland’s historic Grand Lake Theater featuring notable guest appearances such as comedian W. Kamau Bell, rappers Boots Riley and Mistah FAB, and former Black Panther leader Ericka Huggins. After the premiere, the series will be available worldwide via YouTube.

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The series follows born-and-bred Oakland residents Nina (Reyna Amaya) and her two best friends, Marcus (Donte Clark) and Benny (Santiago Rosas). Facing the hilarious hijinks of gentrification and climate change, the friends fight for their home, affectionately known as “The North Pole” to locals.


“We wanted to make The North Pole because there’s no place on earth like Oakland,” said Healey, who wrote and produced the series. “And unti I Neil de Grasse Tyson tells me otherwise, there’s no planet in the universe like Earth. I call both these places home—and both are suffering through their own kind of ‘climate change.’ At a time when whole communities and environments are being displaced and disposed of, The North Pole is our creative picket line-turned-comedy roast—our crazy love letter to Oakland and all the people and places around the world worth defending.”

If you’d like more information on The North Pole, visit www.thenorthpoleshow.com.