Porcupine Theater to screen Alaskan film

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 26, 2026

The Porcupine Theater will present a special screening of “Spirit of the Wind” next Wednesday, March 4, with two showtimes at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Directed by Ralph Liddle, “Spirit of the Wind” was originally released in 1979 and tells the true life story of Alaska Native dog musher George Attla, who was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. Shot on location in Fairbanks, the film follows Attla from his life as a young Athabascan trapper in rural Alaska, to a tuberculosis diagnosis that meant years in sanitariums in Tanana and Sitka. Upon returning home, Attla faces the challenges of a fused knee and cross-cultural conflict, and goes on to become a champion sprint dog musher — the “Huslia Hustler” of Alaska legend.

Liddle said in an interview Tuesday that the film has remained “close to the heart of Alaskans” since its original theatrical release in Anchorage and Fairbanks — where, he added, it outperformed “Star Wars.”

“It’s a big part of media history in Alaska … its value remains solid,” he said. “(The film) speaks so much louder than anything I could ever say — it has a magic to it. It’s never met an audience that didn’t love it.”

Alaska’s “most honored” movie, “Spirit of the Wind” has won numerous awards, including Best Picture at the Sundance Film Festival in 1979. It was also an official Un Certain Regard selection at the Cannes Film Festival; won Best Picture, Director, Actor and Cinematography at the American Indian Film Festival; and more.

The film is not currently available on streaming platforms and has had “rare” public screenings since its release, Porcupine Theater co-owner Susannah Webster wrote in an email to the Homer News. “Spirit of the Wind” returned to Fairbanks for a screening in 2015 and, most recently, was shown at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub in Anchorage last November as part of a fundraiser co-presented by the Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association and the Doyon Foundation in recognition of Alaska Native/American Indian Heritage Month.

“We are fortunate to bring it to Homer and hope to spread the word far and wide so our community doesn’t miss this opportunity to experience an important Alaska film,” Webster wrote.

Purchase tickets and learn more about the film at porcupinetheater.com/movies/spirit-of-the-wind/.