On Screen Manitoba

Congratulations to OSM member Ivan Hughes whose documentary Soul of the Sea is also an official selection and will be screening at Mountain Film in Telluride on May 26 and 27.

The kayak adventure documentary Soul of the Sea, directed by Winnipeg filmmaker Ivan Hughes, will screen on Tuesday, May 29, 7:30 p.m., at the Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. This screening is hot on the heels of the film’s US premiere May 26 as an official selection of the Mountainfilm in Telluride.

Soul of the Sea takes place in the waters surrounding the island of South Georgia, as treacherous as any on the planet. Even at the most inviting times of year, winds are apt to top hurricane force and roughly coax dark ocean swells to a riotous crescendo. Not surprisingly, no one had ever solo-kayaked around the island.

Perhaps no less surprising, wilderness guide and expedition leader Haley Shephard takes up the challenge. Shephard is a passionate and off-kilter character with an endearing penchant for tilting at improbable odds. In this case, it’s not just circumnavigation of the remote, wind-and-wave-battered island, but Shephard’s hope to help save the great albatross that is severely threatened by overfishing, longline fishing and the plastic detritus that too often ends up in albatross bellies.

Shot in HD against the dramatic backdrop of rugged peaks and stunning glaciers, trumpeting penguins and an abundance of wildlife, Soul of the Sea is a story of solitary endurance, passion and survival.

“It was probably the most profound adventure I have ever undertaken,” says Shephard who is also an expedition leader in Churchill for Frontiers North. “I was constantly reminded that despite all the planning and preparing, things don't always go as planned but you can always find success in working through the challenges.”

Ever the adventurer, Hayley Shephard is slowly working her way to Winnipeg and aims to be here to introduce the film to a Winnipeg audience.

“The adventure didn’t only take place on camera,” says director and editor Ivan Hughes. “The making of the film was a challenge across borders, around the world.”

Soul of the Sea was made almost entirely online. The bi-coastal American Katie Mustard, and the Canadian prairie producer, Angela Heck of Fringe Filmworks, Inc, produced it. An email introduction from Slovakian film fest producer Alan Formanek put the team in touch. Online video transfers and FedEx helped get hundreds of hours of the actual video, shot near Antarctica, into the hands of the Winnipeg-based director and editor Ivan Hughes. Angela and Katie have yet to meet in person.

“We’re thrilled to have this screening for our community in our local theatre. After this journey, we just have to walk across the street to get to the show,” says Heck.

The screening of Soul of the Sea is presented with the support of Manitoba Eco-Network and Frontiers North Adventures.

Tickets are $12 and available now online and at the door on May 29.

Get the latest at http://facebook.com/souloftheseadoc