In its groundbreaking first season, The North Pole introduced us to Oakland’s favorite trash-talking, revolutionary polar bears: Nina, Benny, Marcus, and newcomer Finn.
Now in the aftermath of the police confrontation that rocked North Oakland in the Season 1 finale, Benny is locked up and threatened with deportation. When his radical lawyer convinces him that the best defense is a good offense, Benny decides to runs for office against the shady local Sheriff who is trying to deport him. In the process, he becomes the first undocumented immigrant to run for public office in America – only the first of many ways that his DIY, hilariously subversive campaign will be unique.
Meanwhile, wildfires rage around Northern California, and Nina, Marcus, and Finn face their own struggles with major health crises, racist family members, and ridiculously escalating Twitter wars. As Benny’s unorthodox campaign gains mass attention and spirals out of control, the four friends must somehow unite the neighborhood to defend Benny – and the place they all call home.
Written and executive produced by Josh Healey, directed by Yvan Iturriaga, The North Pole is executive produced by Rosario Dawson and Movement Generation. The show is co-executive produced by Favianna Rodriguez and Darren Colston.CAST
Reyna Amaya
Nina
Reyna Amaya is a comedian, actress, and voiceover artist from Oakland, CA. She has rocked stages from the San Francisco Punchline to the Nokia Theater in LA for BET Weekend with Cedric the Entertainer. Reyna has performed and appeared on Bounce TV network’s Brkdwn, Magic Johnson’s AspireTV’s WE GOT NEXT, and Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital series Professor White.
Donte Clark
Marcus
Donte Clark is an actor, poet, emcee, and youth activist from Richmond, CA. The award-winning documentary Romeo Is Bleeding follows Donte’s work in Richmond using his art to help heal the trauma of violence in his community. As an actor, Donte played a supporting role in the 2016 film Kicks. He currently serves as artistic director for the RAW Talent youth program at the RYSE Center in Richmond.
Eli Marienthal
Finn
Eli Marienthal is an actor, writer, and educator. As a child actor, he appeared in American Pie, Iron Giant, and other major movies. Eli was a first generation Youth Speaks poet, and was the youngest member of a winning Brave New Voices National Poetry Slam team. He currently co-directs the wilderness education program Back to Earth and the multi-platform project Gentrifried Chicken.
CAMEOS
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson is an actress, filmmaker, and political activist. She has starred in such films as Kids, He Got Game, Sin City, Rent, 25th Hour, and is currently in production for Briarpatch, a new show on USA Network. She has helped fundraise for the Lower East Side Girls Club (located where she grew up) and launched Voto Latino to get Latino youth active in the political process. Dawson also served as honorary host of the fourth annual "Our Voices: Celebrating Diversity in Media" event at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Boots Riley
Boots Riley is a rapper, producer, organizer, and filmmaker best known as the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. Since the group’s formation in 1993, The Coup has pushed the boundaries of political hip-hop, funk, and punk. Boots is currently working on his first feature film, Sorry to Bother You, named after his last album and developed with the support of the Sundance Institute and San Francisco Film Society.
Mistah Fab
Mistah FAB is an award-winning rapper, producer, entrepreneur, and community activist from North Oakland, CA. With six albums and over twenty mixtapes in his legacy, FAB has collaborated with artists like Kendrick Lamar, E-40, Snoop Dogg, and the late great Mac Dre. F.A.B.'s community activism and philanthropic efforts in his hometown were recognized in 2014 when the Oakland City Council declared February 8th as "Stanley Cox aka Mistah FAB Day.”
Zumbi
Stephen “Zumbi” Gaines is the emcee and heart of Zion I, one of the most prolific conscious rap groups of the past two decades. Boasting a catalog that consists of over two-dozen albums, mixtapes, and collaborations, Zumbi continues to create inspired music influenced by social & political woes, personal challenges & triumphs, and a raw perspective on the world at large.
CREATIVE TEAM
Josh Healey
Writer / Executive Producer
Josh Healey is an award-winning writer, performer, filmmaker, and creative activist. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, and on his 13-year-old cousin Brian Silverstein's Youtube page -- where it has almost 27 ‘likes.’ A regular performer on NPR’s Snap Judgment, he currently directs the Culture Shift program for Movement Generation. Born and raised in DC, Healey lives in Oakland, CA.
Yvan Iturriaga
Director / Co-Writer
Yvan Iturriaga is a director and producer. His work includes PBS specials such as The Storm That Swept Mexico and A Photographer’s Journey. His short film Beep was an official selection at the San Francisco Latino Film Festival. Yvan grew up border-crossing through Latin America, living in the extended Chilean exile community, before landing as a teenager in the city he now calls home: Oakland, CA.
Rosario Dawson
Executive Producer
Rosario Dawson is an actress, filmmaker, and political activist. She has starred in such films as Kids, He Got Game, Sin City, Rent, 25th Hour, and is currently in production for Briarpatch, a new show on USA Network. She has helped fundraise for the Lower East Side Girls Club (located where she grew up) and launched Voto Latino to get Latino youth active in the political process. Dawson also served as honorary host of the fourth annual "Our Voices: Celebrating Diversity in Media" event at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Favianna Rodriguez
Co-Executive Producer
Favianna Rodriguez is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and executive director of the national arts activism organization Culture Strike. A recipient of the Robert Rauschenberg Artist as Activist Fellowship for her work around immigrant detention and mass incarceration, Favianna is currently organizing with artists in the entertainment industry through 5050by2020.com, an initiative launched by Jill Soloway to build intersectional artist power.
Reyna Amaya
Co-Writer
Reyna Amaya is a comedian, actress, and voiceover artist from Oakland, CA. She has rocked stages from the San Francisco Punchline to the Nokia Theater in LA for BET Weekend with Cedric the Entertainer. Reyna has performed and appeared on Bounce TV network’s Brkdwn, Magic Johnson’s AspireTV’s WE GOT NEXT, and Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital series Professor White.
Donte Clark
Co-Writer
Donte Clark is an actor, poet, emcee, and youth activist from Richmond, CA. The award-winning documentary Romeo Is Bleeding follows Donte’s work in Richmond using his art to help heal the trauma of violence in his community. As an actor, Donte played a supporting role in the 2016 film Kicks. He currently serves as artistic director for the RAW Talent youth program at the RYSE Center in Richmond.
Adam Mansbach
Associate Producer
Adam Mansbach is a novelist, screenwriter, cultural critic and humorist. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Go the Fuck to Sleep. He wrote the screenplay for the Netflix Original film BARRY, and was recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Mansbach's 2013 novel, Rage is Back, was named a Best Book of the Year by National Public Radio, and he is currently adapting it as an hour-long TV drama in development at USA Networks. He lives in Berkeley, CA.
Dania Cabello
Associate Producer
Dania Cabello is a writer, educator, and futbolista from Oakland, CA. A former professional soccer player, Dania uses sport as a tool for education and liberation. A graduate of UC-Berkeley in the Graduate School of Education, her work has appeared in Al Jazeera America, ColorLines, and in the forthcoming documentary Futbolistas 4 Life. She lives in The North Pole.
Yosimar Reyes
Creative Consultant
Yosimar Reyes is a nationally-acclaimed Poet and Public Speaker. Born in Guerrero, Mexico, and raised in Eastside San Jose, Reyes explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. The Advocate named Reyes one of "13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World" and Remezcla included Reyes on their list of "10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know."
Patricia Flores
Creative Consultant
Michoacan born, Bay Area raised, Patricia Contreras Flores is a community worker, healer, writer, and storyteller. She currently works with the Street Level Health Project as an immigrant rights dispatcher and advocate. Patricia previously organized with the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) as part of the Fight for $15 campaign. She is 100% loyal to the soil.
Executive Producer
Movement Generation inspires and engages in transformative action towards the liberation and restoration of land, labor, and culture. We are rooted in vibrant social movements led by low-income communities and communities of color committed to a Just Transition away from profit and pollution and towards healthy resilient and life-affirming local economies.
PRIMARY CREW
Mecky Creus
Director of Photography
Aleixo Goncalves
Editor
A'Darius Bell
Assistant Director
Ayanna Ziegler
2nd Assistant Director
Mila Puccini
Gaffer
Julian Benedictes
Key Grip
Joshua Pausanos
Key Grip
Jaszi Nicholes
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Aleixo Goncalves
Editor
A'Darius Bell
Assistant Director
Ayanna Ziegler
2nd Assistant Director
Mila Puccini
Gaffer
Julian Benedictes
Key Grip
Joshua Pausanos
Key Grip
Jaszi Nicholes
Production Designer
Shana Lancaster
Wardrobe
Sage Bilderback
Sound Recordist
Corryn Deegan
Boom Operator
Ashley Valenzuela
1st Assistant Camera
Shaun Frazier
2nd Assistant Camera
Rabiah Collins
Make Up Artist
Dion Decibels
Music Supervisor
Diego Calderon
Music Composition
Wardrobe
Sage Bilderback
Sound Recordist
Corryn Deegan
Boom Operator
Ashley Valenzuela
1st Assistant Camera
Shaun Frazier
2nd Assistant Camera
Rabiah Collins
Make Up Artist
Dion Decibels
Music Supervisor
Diego Calderon
Music Composition
IMRSV Sound
Sound Design and Mix
Marco Ramirez
Colorist and VFX Artist
Claudia Suarez
Lead Production Assistant
Amir Clark
Production Assistant
Harold Powell
Production Assistant
Andy Cerio
Production Assistant
Danny Tran
Production Assistant
Sound Design and Mix
Marco Ramirez
Colorist and VFX Artist
Claudia Suarez
Lead Production Assistant
Amir Clark
Production Assistant
Harold Powell
Production Assistant
Andy Cerio
Production Assistant
Danny Tran
Production Assistant
The North Pole is made possible thanks to the support of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Creative Work Fund, The California Endowment, Berkeley Film Foundation, CrossCurrents Foundation, Panta Rhea Foundation, Compton Foundation, East Bay Community Fund, and many individual donors and generous Kickstarter backers.