French filmmakers travel to Nome to research Lillian Alling

“Mystery Woman Continues Journey to Nome,” read the headline in The Nome Nugget newspaper on August 3, 1929. The so-called Mystery Woman referenced was Lillian Alling, a Polish immigrant who had spent the previous three years traveling across North America from New York City, hoping to cross the Bering Strait and making her way back home to Poland. That article in the Nugget and a following article on August 31 were the last accounts of Alling before she disappeared from the contemporary historical record.
Differing later accounts on Alling have her drowning in a river between Nome and Teller or making it to Cape Prince of Wales. One story claims that in autumn 1930, a woman dressed like an American or European was seen in the company of three Eskimo men from Diomede in Providenya.
And now, two French filmmakers have arrived in Nome to see if they can find out more about Alling. Aurélie Pollet, director of the upcoming animated documentary The Mystery Woman, and assistant director, Gabrielle Dembinski, arrived in Nome last week to do research on Alling’s time in the region.
Pollet and Dembinski are looking for any accounts or evidence of Alling’s time on the Seward Peninsula. They hope to interview members of the community who may have relatives or ancestors who met Alling, as well as better understand the land and culture of the land Alling traveled through.
Pollet originally heard about Alling 15 years ago, when she picked up a graphic novel called The Lillian Legend. Very quickly, she realized she wanted to make a movie about the story. “When I make my first research from the little comic strip, I realized that it was a fiction comic strip based on a real fact,” she said. “The author invent a lot of things, very dramatic things.”
Pollet said that as she kept researching and reading about Alling, she saw that every story about Alling painted her as a solo adventurer. “The only thing it was missing everywhere, it was a point of view of the people who lived in the territory of the First Nations people,” she said. “I thought that, ‘She crossed all this territory, there are a lot of communities in this territory, maybe they remember something.’”
Last year, the filmmakers traveled along southern portions of Alling’s route in British Columbia. “We met some people who’ve heard things from their uncles or their grandparents talking about that story,” said Dembinski. “That’s why we’re here trying to talk with people to see, maybe somebody remembers a relative talking about this.”
“Lilian was able to complete her journey because she was not alone. She was often helped and guided along the way by native communities,” said Dembinski. “They led her along their ancestral trails, taught her how to survive in the wilderness, and so if Lillian was able to reach Siberia, it was thanks to the help of these people.”
Pollet said Alling’s story is a global story. Alling came from Poland and experienced the difficult period after World War One before coming to America. Then she crossed North America to try and get back home. “It’s a story about migration,” said Pollet.
“It’s a human story with a lot of people who help other people,” said Pollet. “It was very important to us to tell this story, and not only the story about a lonely woman alone in the wilderness.”
While in town, Pollet and Dembinski have met with members of the community and explored The Nome Nugget newspaper’s archives. They are holding an event July 10 at the Katirvik Cultural Center from 1:30 to 3 p.m. for community members to learn about Alling and share memories of the region. A youth filmmaking workshop will follow. To learn more about the event or contact the filmmakers when they are in town, reach out to Ukallaysaaq Okleasik at info@nwplanning.net.