Hyena Road shines a light on military experience overseas, says Allan Hawco

Newfoundland and Labrador actor Allan Hawco says his experience filming Hyena Road gave him a new appreciation for what military personnel go through overseas.

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Hyena Road, named after a highway in Afghanistan built by Canadian Forces, opened in theatres across the country last week.

Hawco says director Paul Gross, who directed Passchendaele, wanted to create a film that told an accurate story of what it's like for the Canadian military when serving overseas.

"He didn't pick a political point of view so if you're extremely anti-war or pro-war, you can go to the movie together. You're not going to be offended by that — that wasn't his point," Hawco told CBC's WAM.

"He really, I think, wanted to capture, give you a window into what the men and women do and how they put their lives at risk for us."

Some scenes in the movie were filmed in Jordan, while Hawco and the other actors trained and filmed in Shilo, Man. at the military base to get realistic training.

"We were trained by active military members, trained by snipers, we had ex-military in our crew watching our every move and we had ex-military advisors on set with us. These people have done some heavy stuff," he said.

According to Hawco, speaking with active and former members of the military gave him a reality check about what people go through when they decide to sign up for the Canadian Forces.

"It kind of made me shut up … sitting in a bar talking about war, whatever, it's like, 'Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about,'" said Hawco.

"I think I know what I'm talking about with the politics, about what choices are made by politicians, I feel like I may have an educated opinion about that, but shut up about what you think is happening and why people are doing what they're doing in terms of entering the military."

Hawco said he was always appreciative for the military's service, but his overall experience on Hyena Road gave him a better appreciation for what it takes to serve.