Alberta filmmaker tracks female grizzly in documentary
Film explores the delicate relationship between humans, animals and technology
A Canmore, Alta., filmmaker's latest project is garnering international attention for its portrayal of a grizzly bear that tells its own tragic story.
Leanne Allison is the creator of an online, interactive documentary called Bear 71, which takes viewers on a digital tour of Banff National Park.
The guide, or star of the film, is a female grizzly bear that is given the voice of a first-person narrator.
"I'm wearing a VHF collar and have my own radio frequency," the bear says in the film after it has been captured and tranquillized. "They also gave me a number. Bear 71."
Allison says her documentary is meant to explore the delicate relationship between humans, animals and technology.
"We wanted to create empathy for how difficult it is for grizzly bears to live in these developed areas," she says. "There's another aspect to the whole story as well and for me it's a critique of technology using technology."
The story doesn't have a happy ending, but Allison hopes it will make people think and want to reconnect with nature.
You can watch the documentary here.