The Grizzlies | Victoria Film Festival

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Sunday, February 10th, 2019
6:15 PM

COMPELLING + WINNING + SPIRITED

BC Premiere
Director: Miranda de Pencier
Country: Canada (Ontario/Nunavut)
Year: 2018
Runtime: 104 min
18+

The village of Kugluktuk, Nunavut overlooks Canada’s Arctic shore. It’s a place of incredible beauty where life is shaped by nature. The Inuit have called it home for millennia, but the impact of colonization has been traumatic and undeniable.

When Russ Sheppard, a recent graduate, arrives by plane to become the newest history teacher in Kugluktuk, he’s in for some hard lessons about life in the North. The first of these is a grocery bill for hundreds of dollars for only a dozen everyday items. The next shock is witnessing a community struggling with suicide, especially amongst his would-be students. From these grim beginnings emerges an inspiring story of resilience and respect, based on the true-life events of a settler teacher who used lacrosse to connect with his students and build a relationship founded on mutual understanding. As the team takes shape and sets their focus on a national tournament in Toronto, it is their collective resolve and self- determination that fills each scene with hardship, humour, and hope.

With a cast of both established Indigenous actors and remarkable first performances, notably by Emerald MacDonald and Paul Nutarariaq, The Grizzlies is a true team effort on screen and behind the scenes. Resisting the conventions of Hollywood underdog sports film, the likes of The Mighty Ducks or Bad News Bears, Inuit producers Stacey Aglok MacDonald (a former Kugluktuk resident) and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Angry Inuk) teamed up with director Miranda de Pencier to create a cross-cultural film about our national sport that’s had audiences cheering across the country.

Click here for information and tickets: https://www.victoriafilmfestival.com/box-office/the-grizzlies/