Directed by Nicholas Kendall​

Written by Peter Behrens

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Genre :  Dramatic 

Length :  1 x 96 minutes

Language:  English

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Summary:

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Set at the intersection of childhood and adolescence, this is the story of a pivotal winter in the life of 12-year-old Samuel MacKenzie. Dreaming of his father, famous Arctic explorer Samuel Clearwater MacKenzie, young Sam comes to terms with the fact that his father will never return from his last expedition to the North, he goes through his emotions of irreversible loss with the help of a wild dog, Kayla, whom he trains to be his lead dog for a local dog sled race. Set in Quebec in the 1920s, Sam has just left boarding school in Montreal for a small rural community to live with his newly married mother and her doctor husband. Unsure of himself and his place in the world, Sam resorts to daydreaming and identifying with his heroic father. In particular, the dogs that played such a vital role in the arctic explorer's life occupy Sam's imagination. As it turns out there are wild dogs in the area, much feared and hated by the local farmer neighbors, Sam manages to befriend and tame one of these dogs. Along the way, Jake, who like Sam has just lost a relative, his mother, lends his skilled carpentry hands to build the sled for the race. Temporarily strengthened by a common adventure and a few hair-raising accidents, the two boys develop their friendship and learn to accept the loss of loving parents.

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Cast :

 

Todd Fennell

Meredith Henderson

Bronwen Booth

Brian Dooley

Carl Marotte

Henry Czerny

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Awards :

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Montreal International Children's Film Festival (Montreal, Canada, March 1998)
People's Choice Award

Poznan Children Film Festival (Poland, April 1998)
Award ​​ for best photography

Atlantic Film Festival (Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1998)
Honorable Mention

Chicago International Film Festival for Children (Chicago, USA, November 1998)
Second prize for the besttheir feature film

Augsburg's Film Festival (Germany, November 1998)
Best Feature Film