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‘The North Pole’ Trailer: Oakland-Bred Climate Change Comedy Will Make You Laugh Until You Cry — Watch

A web series featuring appearances from comedian W. Kamau Bell and former Black Panther leader Ericka Huggins.
web series oakland gentrification w. kamau bell
Movement Generation

As New York Magazine recently made clear in an anxiety-producing cover story, climate change is accelerating at a rate much faster than even scientists’ most alarming predictions. As fewer resources are stretched between more people, the gentrification of urban areas will continue to displace folks from their homes. Enter “The North Pole”: A smart and stylish web series that manages to find the funny amidst the worries about gentrification and climate change.

READ MORE: Jerry Seinfeld, Demetri Martin and Female Bros: The 16 Best Web Series Of 2016

Set in North Oakland, California, from which the series takes its name, “The North Pole” follows three friends as they struggle to stay afloat amidst a rapidly changing neighborhood. They fight, dream, and plot half-baked schemes to save the place they call home. They will have to combat evil landlords, crazy geoengineering plots, and ultimately each other if they want to stay grounded.

“We wanted to make ‘The North Pole’ because there’s no place on earth like Oakland,” said filmmaker Josh Healey, who created the series with Yvan Iturriaga and Darren Colston. “Until 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.”

READ MORE: ‘BKPI’ Clip: ‘Bored to Death’ Meets Gentrification In Web Series Starring 3 Women of Color — Watch

The series features guest appearances from comedian W. Kamau Bell, former Black Panther Party leader Ericka Huggins, and Oakland-based rappers Boots Riley And Mistah FAB. “The North Pole” is executive produced by ecological justice organization Movement Generation, and will launch with a special screening on Thursday, September 7 at Oakland’s historic Grand Lake Theater.

Check out the exclusive trailer below:

For more information on the series, head to the project’s website.

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