Producer Alethea Arnaquq-Baril speaks about the film The Grizzlies to guests during TIFF's 2018 Canadian Press Conference, in Toronto on Aug. 1, 2018.Audiences in remote northern Indigenous communities will be among the first to see the upcoming film “The Grizzlies,” based on the true story of Inuit youth playing lacrosse in a small Arctic community.
The tour, set to run through May, has already hosted several screenings in Nunavut, and is set to make stops in Iqaluit, Yellowknife and Inuit communities in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.Each advance screening will include a Q-and-A with a real Team Grizzly player, an actor or a member of the film’s production team.
Arnaquq-Baril says “The Grizzlies” is uplifting, but deals with difficult subject matter, and the team behind the film took great care to make sure it was presented responsibly. An educational curriculum about mental health will be rolled out later this year as part of the film’s release to high school and university audiences, says Arnaquq-Baril. The package will include video clips from the northern tour, as well as footage from workshops that were held with Inuit actors and youth during the film’s development.