Set in Alaska, Shot Somewhere Else

Planning guides
Written by Brendan Wells

Some of the best-known Alaska stories on screen were filmed in Iceland, Massachusetts, New Zealand, British Columbia and Washington State. The reasons on record are tax credits, production infrastructure and cost, not the look.

By Brendan Wells · Last checked November 2026 · Part of our Filming in Alaska guide

Which Alaska movies and shows weren't filmed in Alaska?

Where was True Detective: Night Country filmed?

HBO's 2024 season is set in Ennis, a fictional Alaska town that creator Issa López based on Kotzebue, Utqiaġvik and Nome. It was shot almost entirely around Keflavík, in southwest Iceland, starting in December 2022. The Anchorage Daily News reported that Iceland had the infrastructure for a production that size, and the show's production notes said Iceland's film and TV tax credit was about to rise to 35%.

Was The Proposal filmed in Sitka?

No. The 2009 comedy is set in Sitka, but most of it was shot in Rockport, Massachusetts. One real Sitka detail made it in: a Tlingit wedding chant written by Sitka resident Edward Littlefield for Betty White's character.

Where was 30 Days of Night filmed?

The 2007 vampire film is set in Barrow, now Utqiaġvik, during the polar night, when the sun doesn't rise for weeks. It was mostly shot in New Zealand.

Where was Northern Exposure filmed?

CBS's Northern Exposure (1990 to 1995) turned Roslyn, an old mining town in Washington's Cascades, into Cicely, Alaska. For the pilot, the Bellevue skyline stood in for Anchorage. A 1991 Seattle Times story said Alaska was rejected partly because it "didn't have the production-related services required" and because it would be too expensive. For winter scenes, the crew trucked in snow.

Where was Insomnia filmed?

Christopher Nolan's 2002 thriller is set in a small Alaska town called Nightmute. It was shot mainly in British Columbia: Squamish played Nightmute, Port Alberni played a logging town, and the ending was filmed at a lake near Stewart, close to the Alaska border. The opening aerials over the Columbia Glacier did come from Alaska. Nolan told The Washington Times the crew shot "a lot of aerial photography and driving shots in the Valdez area."

Why do Alaska stories get filmed somewhere else?

The reasons on record are practical. Iceland offered True Detective a production base big enough for the show and a tax credit about to reach 35%. Northern Exposure's producers passed on Alaska over production services and cost.

Alaska had its own film tax credit from 2008 until 2015, when Gov. Bill Walker signed Senate Bill 39 to end it. While it ran, productions came to Alaska: Big Miracle (2012), about the 1988 rescue of gray whales trapped in ice near Barrow, was described as the first major movie shot entirely in Alaska under the program. Today there's no state incentive, so the savings have to come from working locally. See what drives the cost of filming in Alaska.

Which Alaska stories were filmed in Alaska?

  • White Fang (1991)

    Disney shot it in and around Haines from February to July 1990. The AFI Catalog says producers looked at Montana and other states, but "Alaska was the only state that offered appropriate scenery and permitted the animals." Haines' Sheldon Museum says the shoot brought an estimated $2.6 million into town.

  • Big Miracle (2012)

    The story of the 1988 whale rescue near Barrow, shot entirely in Alaska while the state's film incentive was in place.

  • Le rêve de Léonard (2024)

    Magnéto Presse filmed this France 5 documentary, Le rêve de Léonard : Les secrets du vol dans la nature (Da Vinci's Dream: The Secrets of Flight), in Alaska. We ran drone, audio and camera for the French crew.

What does real Alaska add on camera?

  • Light that's hard to fake: a winter sun that peaks around 5° above the horizon in Anchorage at the December solstice, and summer twilight that lasts all night. See the best time to film in Alaska, month by month.

  • Real cold and snow: breath, frost and ice that behave the way they only do in real cold, with no trucked-in snow.

  • Scale: glaciers, icefields and the Alaska Range in the same frame as the people in the story.

  • Wildlife in its own habitat: bears, moose, eagles and salmon where they live.

  • Real towns and the people who live in them. We've worked with Alaska Native corporations including NANA, CIRI, Calista, Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Ahtna.

Is it practical to shoot Alaska in Alaska?

Yes. The production services Northern Exposure couldn't find in 1991 are here now: local crews, cinema cameras, lighting and grip, camera vehicles, aircraft and people who know the permits. A local crew is what makes it practical: most of the team has no travel days, the gear and aircraft are already here, and the people planning the shoot know where the light, snow and access are in a given week.

For Red Bull's Originate (Season 3, Episode 3), skier Michelle Parker's segment was filmed in the Wrangell-St. Elias, which is reached only by bush plane. We filmed the air-to-air shots with the Cub Cam and shot on the slopes. See more on production services for visiting crews.

Questions

Where was True Detective: Night Country filmed?

Almost entirely around Keflavík, in southwest Iceland. The show is set in Ennis, a fictional town in Alaska.

Was The Proposal filmed in Alaska?

No. It's set in Sitka, but most of it was shot in Rockport, Massachusetts.

Where was Northern Exposure filmed?

In Roslyn, Washington, which played the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, from 1990 to 1995.

Which movies were actually filmed in Alaska?

White Fang (1991) was shot in and around Haines, and Big Miracle (2012) was shot entirely in Alaska under the state's former film incentive. Insomnia (2002) filmed its opening aerials near Valdez.

Planning a shoot in Alaska?

If your story is set in Alaska, we'll help you film it here. Start a project, or call or text (907) 521-8133. We reply within one business day.

Sources

Brendan Wells https://mountainmind.media
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