Sunshine Coast Film Society

Canada, 2018, 102 min., bio/drama
Director: Miranda de Pencier

Did you know the official national sport of Canada is lacrosse?  The Grizzlies teaches this, and so much more.  A Canadian film that received three standing ovations in Vancouver, The Grizzlies takes you to a small Arctic town struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America. Based on a true story, the film follows a young hotshot teacher from southern Canada who heads up to the Arctic for a year to teach history to high school students in the remote Nunavut community of Kugluktuk. There he finds a group of kids who have little interest in school and are struggling to find ways just to persevere through a harsh environment beset by alcoholism, abuse, suicide, and the legacies of colonialism.

At various times funny, tragic, and inspiring, not everyone is going to make it through this one without shedding a few tears. You will smile and cry … and hope for these amazing kids.

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