Northwords (feat. director Geoff Morrison)
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 9:42 am—FilmNorthwords (Canada 2012, Documentary), Writer: Joel McConvey; Director: Geoff Morrison
The gifted filmmaking team behind The National Parks Project has done it again. After digging deep into the natural world of 13 national parks in each of Canada’s provinces and territories, they’ve now struck gold in one particular spot—northern Labrador’s Torngat Mountains National Park.
Northwords is an exceptional documentary that follows esteemed CBC Radio host (and Kickass Canadian) Shelagh Rogers and five of her favourite authors on a literary expedition to one of Canada’s most beautiful and remote spaces. Her writerly companions are Joseph Boyden, Sarah Leavitt, Rabindranath Maharaj, Noah Richler and Alissa York. Each has been tasked with finding the words to capture their experience in the north. Shelagh herself is gathering stories for her radio show, The Next Chapter.
While the artists absorb the area’s rich culture, staggering landscape and moving history, the crew—led by Kickass Canadians Joel McConvey, Geoff Morrison and Ryan J. Noth—documents the experience. The result is a remarkable and very rare take on the north, presented by people with extraordinary depth and insights who truly connect with the place.
I had the pleasure of interviewing director/producer Geoff Morrison for my podcast, Keeping Up with the Kickass Canadians. You can also read his thoughts on making Northwords and on what he most hopes viewers get from the project.
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Northwords won Best Documentary at the 2012 Banff World Media International Pilot Competition. It has its Toronto premiere this October 11 at Planet in Focus, and its broadcast premiere October 25 on CBC’s documentary channel. Following its television debut, Northwords will be available at FilmCAN.org, where you’ll find links to the five writers’ e-books and Shelagh’s radio documentary.
