No Madeline Island Ice Challenges “Mad Island”

Film crew adjusts and finds "winter" at Fish Lake.

So, you want to film a movie that requires lots of ice and snow.
You grew up in Superior and spent lots of time on Madeline Island.
So, why not schedule the shoot for February?

Good plan, but Mother Nature had other plans. That’s why a film crew found itself on the shores of Fish Lake, north of the Duluth.

The ice road of Madeline never came to be this year, so the crew had to be creative and find enough ice–and some clever camera angles–to simulate a frozen Lake Superior. The film’s title is appropriately enough–Mad Island.

“Mad Island is a short film about a young music maker who comes out to Madeline Island to record the sounds of the ice as it’s freezing,” said Lily Rains, the film’s producer.

“The plan is to stay for a month, and she is renting an Airbnb, if you will. And the homeowner is a little too ‘friendly.’ A little too nice if you will. And some weird stuff starts happening,” hints Rains.

The crew never expected warm days, no snow, crummy ice and generally speaking–no winter. They thought they could count on a natural winter wonderland.

The crew did not stumble upon the region by looking at an atlas. The film’s writer and director met his wife on Madeline, and after repeated visits over the years, he knew it had potential.

“It’s just a place that’s been near and dear to my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do a film about it for a very long time. So, this is a very nice happy marriage between that community that I’m feeling so grateful to have. And then just the lake in general, which I just absolutely adore,” said Nick Peet, the film’s writer and director.

“So, that’s been really cool for me to finally photograph and tell the Mad Island story, that I’ve been wanting to tell for several years. And it absolutely could not have happened without the support of the community there,” said Peet.

Peet is based out of Los Angeles and says you don’t always find that local enthusiasm on film shoots.

Wednesday was the last day of filming. Many local artists and crew were used to make what will be a short film, with hopes of it becoming a series or feature film.