Just a few months ago, S&A informed you about emerging filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu and her effort to raise funds for her first feature film alaskaLand. Well, we have an update regarding her journey. Principal photography is complete and now she’s in the post production phase. You can see the official poster above.

You may recall, Chinonye is a Nigerian born writer and director raised in Alaska who describes herself as an “anomaly” of sorts. A recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Award, she strives to make films that are at the forefront of change.

As she stated on Facebook…”It would be too cliché, and maybe even ambitious, for me to say that I want to change the world, but this is, in fact, the vision I had when I created Where’s the Fire? Filmworks.”

Based on your positive response to her short film Dance Lesson we posted, alaskaLand–a film about an estranged Nigerian-American brother and sister reuniting in Fairbanks, Alaska–should pique your interest as well.

We anticipate covering more of her journey in the future and expect to see an interview soon but for now, you can “like” the film on the facebook page HERE and follow on twitter HERE. Also, check out her personal filmmaker diary blog at www.blogbychinonye.com.

Below is a detailed synopsis for the film and a behind-the-scenes clip.

Alaskaland tells the story of Chukwuma, an Alaskan-raised Nigerian struggling to balance the expectations of his traditional Nigerian parents and the larger world around him. After his parents are killed in a tragic car crash, Chukwuma is separated from his younger sister, Chidinma, who moves to Nigeria with their Uncle until she becomes of legal age.

After two years the siblings reconnect to find their estrangement has created new personal and cultural frictions in ways that bring them closer to each other and their roots, as well as help them define what it means to be a Nigerian in Alaska.