Family hoping to make documentary about Edmonton to Montreal canoe journey

Well, at times, an extraordinary journey calls for an extraordinary film. 

That's exactly what a family that travelled by canoe from Edmonton to Montreal are trying to create.

Benoît Gendreau-Berthiaume, his wife Magali Moffatt and their five-year-old son Mali Berthiaume made their journey last year and took along cameras and film equipment to document their adventures. They are now planning to crowd fund a documentary about the trip that took them across 5000 kilometres in 147 days. 

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"Our next big challenge is to put the documentary about this journey," said Gendreau-Berthiaume, "we took a lot of video footage during this trip and are hoping to put a great film together." 

Gendreau-Berthiaume was in Edmonton today speaking at the Greater Edmonton Teachers conference about his family's  trip and to show what his five-year-old son learned. 

At the time, the family was criticised for making such a dangerous journey with a young child in tow, but Gendreau-Berthiaume says the lessons his son took away from the trip were immense. 

"He had to sometimes conquer some of his own fears during some of our challenges," said Gendreau-Berthiaume. "He was also a great inspiration for us." 

"As parents to see him blossom like that, throughout the summer, and spend so much quality time with him was a really great experience."

They hope the documentary is going to be finished by the summer and play in adventure film festivals all around the world. Speaking to CBC, Gendreau-Berthiaume said that he has a definite goal in mind with regards to the documentary's message. 

"Hopefully, we can inspire a lot of other kids, or parents with young kids, that they can dream big and discover the great outdoors even if they have children."