March 9, 2022

There’s a Hollywood buzz in the South Slave this week as work begins on a new film project Cold Road. Its creator is Hay River born-and-raised filmmaker Kelvin Redvers who grew up travelling the NWT’s highways that are now the inspiration for his first full-length feature.

The movie follows an Indigenous woman as she journeys along a northern highway to her First Nation to visit her dying mother.

Filming will take place, with a 20-person crew, in and around Hay River and Fort Resolution contributing over $200,000 to the economy. Redvers also plans to hire and enlist locals who are interested in, or have some experience in, acting or film production.

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment recognizes the contributions that film projects can make to communities and their businesses. It is supporting Redvers’ film project under the NWT Film Rebate Program.

The project will also offer opportunities for local film professionals to gain valuable insights and professional experience– one of the key objectives of the GNWT’s current Film Strategy and Action Plan: Rolling, Action! The Next 5 Years 2021-2026.

Redvers, who left the NWT to study film production in BC, says he had the idea for Cold Road in 2019.  He has spent a year putting together a producing team, finalized the script, and securing funding from various sources, including national-film-funder Telefilm.