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Two French filmmakers are coming to Nome June 30 to research the story of Lillian Alling, an Eastern European immigrant who walked roughly 5,000 miles across North America a century ago. It’s for their upcoming animated documentary “The Mystery Woman.”
Alling left New York City on foot in 1926 and reached Nome three years later. Then, she disappeared from the written record.
The film’s director, Aurélie Pollet, and assistant director, Gabrielle Dembinski, told KNOM their research suggests Alling did not make the journey alone, despite how her story has often been told. Rather, she was guided by traditional knowledge along the way. They’re coming to the Seward Peninsula to hear local accounts of what the peninsula was like in the late 1920s — and to see whether they can fill in the missing final chapter of Lillian Alling’s story.
Pollet and Dembinski are scheduled to visit Nome, Teller, Wales, and St. Michael during their ten day trip.
In collaboration with Northwest Planning LLC, they will host a community meeting on July 10 at the Katirvik Cultural Center in Nome, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., with a youth workshop on filmmaking and animation youth activity to follow. If you have a story or family memory from that era — or about Lillian Alling herself — you can email Ukallaysaaq Okleasik at info@nwplanning.net.
