In Nature – Winnipeg Free Press

The epic drama has been shooting for a week in the wintry Manitoba wilderness under the direction of co-directors Alexandre Trudeau (perhaps better known by his nickname Sasha and, yes, son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau). his friend, Winnipeg teacher/director James McLellan.

The subject Bear hairthe film is a survival drama set in Lac du Bonnet, 115 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg, starring Malia Baker (from the Netflix series). Babysitters Club) and Roy Dupuis (Rocket, Shaking hands with the Devil). Filming is scheduled to begin in early March, marking the debut for both Trudeau, 50, and McLellan, 49.

The friendship between Trudeau and McLellan could be the movie itself, as Trudeau described it in a phone interview.

“We met at the officer training corps,” Trudeau says of his time at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick in 1996. “We shared a barracks room and had a lot of laughs through the incredible challenges of basic officer training. And we quickly became friends.

“At that time, we were both black sheep in a military context.”

McLellan remained in the military for years afterward, while Trudeau, younger brother of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, continued to make documentaries.

there, Bear hair It seems like a departure for Trudeau, whose filmography consists mostly of geopolitical documentaries, including the documentary W5. Embedded in Iraq In 2003 and Fence (2004), a film about two families on either side of the Israeli/Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Trudeau says documentaries and this drama have in common the examination of an issue through the lens of personal experience.

“This film is a bit of a departure, but in a way it's about following characters in extraordinary situations and seeing how people react under great pressure,” says the director.

“This film came about because of my long friendship with James, who told me about teenage anxiety and how it became an epidemic.”

“It was evident about five or six years ago in a wave where all these kids were ripping their hands off and cutting and scratching,” says McLellan, who has been teaching and now works in Winnipeg for 27 years. At Oak Park High School in Charleswood, he directs the 35mm digital filmmaking program.

“And it's still going on. 25 years later, it's remarkable to see the type of trend explode through these issues of debilitating anxiety.”

In the film, Baker plays Tori, a teenage girl whose social media-driven life causes her anxiety. When he refuses to go to school, his mother sends him to live with his grandfather Benoit (Dupuis) ​​in a remote desert.

Benoit refocuses his life on survival skills, until a crisis finds Tori fighting for her life.

Trudeau says the film is not political in any way.

“I don't consider (my documentary work) political. They were geopolitical. They are mostly character-based: people think about their fate in a war zone,” he says.

“This story is no different than being a teenager in a personal crisis. He fights for his life both internally and externally. It is above all a human story. I've always called myself a humanistic filmmaker … and this is a very humanistic film. Let's look at what makes us who we are, how we cope with extreme pressure and how we find ways to survive.”

The cast includes Quebecois actors Dupuis and Catherine Bérubé (who plays Tori's mother), Vancouver resident Baker and local actor Sage Boulanger McLeod.

One member of the crew from abroad is the famous German cinematographer Stefan Zupek. 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire and Dredd.

“It's a deeply Canadian production, the cast and crew and all, but having an outsider's perspective on the European perspective adds another twist to the production,” says Trudeau.

The film aims to pay homage to Canada and its often difficult landscape, but also to the characters who live here and are at the heart of the Canadian spirit, he says.

“It's a universal element that appeals to the wider world. This is the Canada they dream of: a snowy forest, a winter world and these tough, tough, generous people.”

Bear hair Produced by Julijette and Same Adventure Productions in association with levelFILM. Juliet Hagopian (her credits include survival/horror). A hunter is a hunter) in production with Trudeau and McLellan. Michael Levine, Malia Baker and Roy Dupuis are executive producers. The film is scheduled to be released in 2025.

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