''The Grizzlies'' is a 2018

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

sports drama film, directed by Miranda de Pencier. Based on a true story, the film depicts a youth

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

team that was set up to help combat an onslaught of youth suicide in the community of

Kugluktuk Kugluktuk (, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; ), known as Coppermine until 1 January 1996, is a hamlet at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island. It is Nunavut's ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. The film's cast includes

Will Sasso William Sasso (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian comedian, actor, and podcaster. After a starring role as Derek Wakaluk on the Global teen drama television series '' Madison'' (1994–1998), Sasso had his breakout as a regular cast member on the ...

Ben Schnetzer Ben Schnetzer is an American actor. He was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards for his performance in the film ''Pride'' (2014). His other films include ''The Book Thief'' (2013), '' The Riot Club'' (2014), and '' The Grizzlies'' ...

Tantoo Cardinal Tantoo Cardinal CM (born July 20, 1950) is a Canadian actress. Of Cree and Métis heritage, in 2009 she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a s ...

Eric Schweig Eric Schweig (born Ray Dean Thrasher; 19 June 1967) is a Canadian Inuvialuk actor best known for his role as Chingachgook's son Uncas in ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1992). Early life Schweig was born in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. He is ...

, Emerald MacDonald, Natar Ungalaaq, Anna Lambe, Paul Nutarariaq,

Booboo Stewart Nils Allen "Booboo" Stewart Jr. (born January 21, 1994) is an American actor, musician, and visual artist. He is known for playing Seth Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'', Warpath in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', Jay in the Disney televi ...

, and

Madeline Ivalu Madeline Piujuq Ivalu is a Canadian Inuit, Inuk filmmaker and actor from Igloolik, Nunavut. One of the cofounders of Arnait Video Productions, a women's video and filmmaking collective in Nunavut, she co-directed, co-wrote and starred in Arnait's ...

. The film premiered at the

2018 Toronto International Film Festival The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to ...

(TIFF). In October, de Pencier won the

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

award for Best Direction in a Feature Film. The film was theatrically released in Canada on April 19, 2019, by

Mongrel Media Mongrel Media is an independent Canadian film distribution company established in 1994 by Hussain Amarshi. It is the exclusive Canadian theatrical distributor for Sony Pictures Classics, and a selection of smaller titles from Neon, A24, Amazon S ...

. At the

7th Canadian Screen Awards The seventh annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 31, 2019, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2018.Dan General, Thomas Lambe, and Adam Tanuyak won the

Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Music: Original Song to the best original song in a Canadian motion picture. First presented at the 3rd Genie Awards in 1982, the award was presented a ...

for "Trials". Nutarariaq was nominated for Best Actor, and Anna Lambe was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Premise

In a small Arctic town struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America, a group of Inuit students' lives are transformed when they are introduced to the sport of lacrosse.

Plot

In the small Arctic town of

, Russ Sheppard takes up a job as a history teacher to pay off his college debt to the Canadian government while waiting for an offer from St. Andrews, a prep school. His colleague Mike picks him up and almost hits a black dog. In his first class, he meets Inuit students Miranda, Zach, Spring, Roger, and Kyle. His first day ends with absentees, cultural miscommunication, and a fist fight with Zach. Russ complains to principal Janace, but she is reluctant to punish him as their struggles are a result of their culture putting family first and unnecessary education last. Russ and Mike see a funeral procession for a teen

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

which is the second of the month. That night, Russ hears an argument in the house across him, and sees Kyle running away. The next night, an injured Spring goes to Russ’ house, pursued by an inebriated Roger. Russ confronts him the next day, and dismisses his heartbreak over his girlfriend. Roger commits suicide. Russ practices

at an abandoned cargo container and discovers Kyle is sleeping there. Russ gives him a key to the school so he can sleep inside. Russ decides to form a school lacrosse team in hopes that it might give the students a sense of belonging and purpose, but fails to recruit any students. Miranda advises him to get Zach and Adam, the latter an absentee student who hunts with his elders. Russ visits Zach’s house, and realizes his parents are both alcoholics. He pays Zach twenty dollars to join lacrosse practice once and bring his fellow students. The practice is a success, and continues. Russ adopts the black dog, naming her Maggie. Kyle observes lacrosse training and saves Maggie from a truck, later joining the team. Kyle sees his father arrested for

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

, and tells Russ that his father is a Residential School survivor. Adam’s grandparents refuse to let him attend school due to their trauma and distrust relating to residential schools. Adam attends school and lacrosse practice behind their back. Russ makes plans for the team to play in the lacrosse nationals in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Miranda organizes fundraising efforts through festivals and lacrosse tournaments. Adam’s grandparents see him playing, and he stops coming to school or practice, and so does Zach as the latter has to hunt for his family who is starving. Russ goes to visit Adam and his grandparents who are hunting seals, inadvertently scaring off their prey. Russ asks Adam’s grandparents to let him return, and gifts Adam his lacrosse stick. The elders tell him the story of Sedna. Russ receives a letter of admission to teach at St. Andrews. Miranda's sister berates her and burns her books for choosing lacrosse and school over her family. Kyle continues to be beaten by his father, and Adam eventually returns to school. The fundraising falls short of the goal after a sponsor pulls funding at the last minute, and Miranda decides to petition at the town council for funding. Russ is rebuked and the council decides not to fund the team. Adam’s grandmother arrives and speaks in support of them, changing the council’s mind. Zach is arrested for stealing money from a cash register for his brother to fly to Toronto in his plan for them to escape his alcoholic parents. Russ visits him, and Zach tells him he will be sent to

juvenile detention Juvenile may refer to: In general *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood * Juvenile (organism) Music * Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), stage name of American rapper Terius Gray *''Juveniles'', a 2020 studio album by the band Kingsw ...

and will be unable to care for his younger brother, Johnny. He hangs himself in his cell that night. Miranda confronts Russ as he is packing to leave and shows him the team mourning together in the empty gymnasium. Russ joins the team for nationals in Toronto, but the team is outplayed by their opponents and fail to score a goal. Dejected, Russ tells the team that playing despite the loss of Zach is a victory. Kyle rejects this and motivates his teammates to successfully score a goal for Zach. Russ decides to stay in Kugluktuk.

Cast

Production

Development and writing

In 2004,

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...

founder

Jake Steinfeld Jake Steinfeld (born February 21, 1958) is an American actor, fitness personality, entrepreneur, and producer, known for his Body by Jake brand. He is the uncle of actress/singer Hailee Steinfeld. Early life Born in the Sea Gate neighborhood o ...

watched a segment about the Kugluktuk Grizzlies on

ESPN Sports Center ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on September ...

and contacted the teacher, Russ Sheppard, who introduced lacrosse to the students attending Kugluktuk High School. After meeting the original Grizzlies students at a major lacrosse event in Denver, Steinfeld hired Frank Marshall as executive producer and Miranda de Pencier as director for the film. Producer Stacey Aglok MacDonald was a local resident of Kugluktuk and attended the high school just before the Grizzlies was formed. The script was written by

Graham Yost Graham John Yost (born September 5, 1959) is a Canadian film and television screenwriter. His best-known works are the films ''Speed'', '' Broken Arrow'', and '' Hard Rain'' and the TV series '' Justified'' and ''Silo''. Early life, family and ...

and

Moira Walley-Beckett Moira Walley-Beckett is a Canadian-American screenwriter, producer, and former actress. She is best known for her work as a writer and producer on ''Breaking Bad''. She wrote nine episodes of the series, including "Ozymandias", widely regarded as ...

. Almost all of the script and characters in the movie were based on real events.

Filming

The film auditioned over 600 Inuit and First Nation youths from Nunavut and

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. Over 91% of the cast and over 33% of the film crew identified themselves as Inuit or First Nation. Principal photography were shot in

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

, Nunavut (stand in for Kugluktuk), Niaqunnguut,

Guelph, Ontario Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

, and Toronto. Paid mentorship program was created to train Inuit actors, film crew, musicians and artists for the movie.

Reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "''The Grizzlies'' scores thanks to exceptional performances and an authentic approach to storytelling that transcends sports drama clichés." The film received an honourable mention for the Best Canadian Film award at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival.

White saviour questions

The film has been the subject of analysis as to whether or not it fits into the concept of the white saviour narrative in film. According to producers

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (born May 9, 1978) is an Inuk filmmaker, known for her work on Inuit life and culture. She is the owner of Unikkaat Studios, a production company in Iqaluit, which produces Inuktitut films. She was awarded the Canadian M ...

and Stacey Aglok MacDonald, de Pencier was conscious of the potentially problematic racial aspect to the story, and worked with them to ensure that the screenplay centred the perspectives of Inuit youth and did not fall into white savior tropes; however, the film has still been analyzed by some film critics through a white savior lens.

Murder of Emerald MacDonald

On May 3, 2021, the actress playing Miranda Atatahak, Emerald MacDonald, was found murdered outside a cabin in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. MacDonald, sister of producer Stacey Aglok MacDonald, was last seen in Kugluktuk on April 30, buying supplies to go to her family's cabin for the weekend. "Our hearts go out to Emerald’s family, friends, fans around the world, and to the whole community of Kugluktuk. It’s hard to imagine the hilarious, energetic, sensitive, sharp, inimitable, and incomparable Emerald is gone," posted director/producer Miranda de Pencier and producer Alethea Arnaquq-Baril on Twitter. MacDonald's death comes in the midst of the

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are instances of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States, notably those in the First Nations in Canada and Native American communities, but also amongst other Indigenous peoples s ...

(MMIW) crisis.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grizzlies, The 2018 films 2010s sports drama films Canadian sports drama films English-language Canadian films Inuktitut-language films Films shot in Nunavut Films set in Nunavut Lacrosse films 2018 drama films Films about Inuit in Canada 2010s Canadian films