The red carpet was illuminated with the driving force behind the first film screened during the Yellowknife International Film Festival (YKIFF) opening night earlier this month.
Cold Road - a feature film written and directed by Hay River-born Kelvin Redvers - had the audience along for the ride throughout a suspenseful tale about an Indigenous woman and her dog being terrorized on a remote highway.
Redvers and two of the cast members attended the Festival’s opening night which saw a full house in attendance.
“I’m excited and I’m nervous,” Redvers said prior to the curtain rising on the 100-minute suspense thriller, adding that he was looking forward to feedback from the audience.
“This isn’t the premiere yet. We’re still finishing the movie. So this is an in-progress screening - sort of a sneak peek for the North,” he added.
“It’s for us to be able to use this last screen almost as a test screening, for us to make our final changes for the film, before we finish it and get ready for a theatrical distribution,” Redvers said.
“I haven’t seen the movie myself on a big screen. And so that’s why it’s good to do this before we kind of finish it off.”
On the right road
Scott Lepp, executive producer for the film, was also in attendance at the screening. Lepp previously worked on the set of the popular television series Heartland for a decade and now produces Indie films.
He said he was drawn to the unique challenges of bringing the film to the big screen.
“Kelvin wrote a very ambitious project. I just loved his motivation and his ambition to do something amazing. That’s actually kind of what attracted me to it in the first place when he came to me with it. He had a great vision,” he said of Redvers’ idea for the film.
While the original plan was to film the project in Lepp’s home province of Alberta, he said when they encountered “too many snags”, Redvers told him he wanted to go home to Hay River to film - a first for all involved in the project.
“So that was a learning experience for our entire team. Fortunately, the Northwest Territories was very accommodating and Hay River was very accommodating. And we had a great time and it was ambitious.”
The process of filming in the North was not without its own challenges, however, he said.
“It was really cold - we lost a day of shooting to the cold. But the crew was very resilient. And we got through it and here we are.”
“I think that people are going to really be entertained by it,” Lepp said.
“And I hope that people make some of those connections about some of the real life challenges facing Indigenous communities and Indigenous women.”
Skillful acting
Roseanne Supernault played the part of Tracy and said she was very excited to be in the film.
“I did some death-defying things - I’m not a stunt person though, but I did some very exciting roles like rolling out of a car. And I acted with a dog in a lot of the movie,” Supernault said.
“He was my co-star and he did a good job - he is a good little boy.”
The role of Eve was played by Taylor Kinequon, who said she, too, enjoyed the challenging experience.
“It was hard because I had a lot of dialogue and I had a lot of really emotional parts, but I had a lot of fun on set and the crew was really awesome,” Kinequon said.
Unique films
This is the 16th year for YKIFF and Jeremy Emerson, the festival’s director, said they received over 500 submissions from various countries this year.
He said while there are few limitations for the content, they mostly seek material relevant to the Northern or circumpolar world.
“We have pre selection committee - a team of people that helps get through all their content. And there are certain criteria that we score it by and we really think about like, ‘Is there an audience for this film in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories?’” Emerson said of the selection process. Awards are also presented as part of the festival.
Some of this years’ themes include wildlife highlights from Finland, the birthing experience and racism in the North, and one of the most dangerous horse races in the world - The Indian Relay.
Emerson said the festival is hybrid, so there are films available to view online or at the Capitol Theatre in Yellowknife.
Films from several Northern filmmakers are included in the programming, Emerson said.
This years’ online selection includes three feature films and three short film programs.
The in-person shows include 10 feature films and 15 short films.
“I think people are really going to enjoy and appreciate it,” Emerson said of the festival.
“These are independent films - films from other parts of the world that you normally wouldn’t get to see.”
The festival runs until November 11th and a regional tour will be planned so NWT residents can also see a selection of the films.
