Film co-produced by Yukoner wins Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival
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A documentary about polar bears co-produced by Yukoner Mike Code has won the top prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
rowdy bear won the Grand Jury Prize in The US documentary competition, the festival, was announced Friday morning.
“We had no idea this was going to happen,” Code said after the announcement Friday.
“It was like, ‘What?!’ … We were thrilled with this award.”
Code told CBC’s Midday Café in an interview on January 20 that the film is a fictional journey of a polar bear who goes through challenges in the Arctic, primarily human-bear interactions.
This look at what the bears mean to two different communities: Churchill, Man. and Arviat, Nunavut.
“This… is not a compare and contrast,” Code said.
“But it’s kind of looking at the nuances of each community and how they deal with the same issue, which is basically bears coming into town.”
Code grew up in both Churchill and Arviat, he said, and saw a lot of polar bears.
His father was a teacher in Arviat and a wildlife photographer and bear guide in Churchill.
Code meets soon-to-be directors rowdy bearJack Wiseman and Gabriela Osio Vanden, He said at the Hot Docs Film Festival in 2019.
The feature begins shooting in Churchill in 2023.
“We like to put these cameras in the car with… the equivalent of a 2,400-millimeter lens… which is like ultra-stabilized,” he said.
“I think it uses some military technology to keep it completely stable, even if you’re driving on a bumpy road. That helped us get very precise shots of bears and moving images and still stay within the safety of the vehicle.”
Code said that the filmmakers knew they had a special film on their hands because they shot things that had never been seen on film before.
People at the festival told him that the film “blew their minds” because of both the visuals and the story, he said after the win.
Being at Sundance is a validation that a filmmaker has created something of high caliber, Code said before heading to the event.
It’s also a great opportunity to meet fellow filmmakers and shed light on the project.
“If we win a competition, it, you know, goes in the pile along with the Oscar nomination,” Code said at the time.
midday cafe13:08Yukoners’ work to be screened at Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is recognized worldwide. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States. This is a big thing in the film industry. And this year a Yukoner is part of it. Mike Code helped produce and film the A24 documentary Nuisance Bear, which was accepted into this year’s festival. Code spoke with Midday Café host George Maratos.
