Inuit youth come together through lacrosse in The Grizzlies

Helping put the story of how the youth in a small Inuit community came together through the sport of lacrosse on the big screen was a big responsibility, say Inuit taking part in the production.

The Grizzlies, set in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, is in theatres across the country.

"There's a lot more pressure to be a responsible storyteller, and nothing is just for pure entertainment," said Stacey Aglok MacDonald, who co-produced the film and is from Kugluktuk.

"You have a responsibility to the community, to the people and to the form itself so it was never something that we took lightly."

In the film, inspired by a true story, the community is facing a suicide epidemic. The youth in the community band together through the sport of lacrosse and find a sense of pride and determination within themselves.

"I think the world tends to not believe that our young people can be so smart and so strong, that they're struggling and need to be saved," said Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, who also co-produced the film.

"In our story it really comes through that when people try to do that, it doesn't always work. We have to put in the work and believe in ourselves and organize for ourselves — that's what the youth do this in this story."

Arnaquq-Baril is an Inuk filmmaker whose award-winning work focuses primarily on Inuit life and culture such as the documentary Angry Inuk (2016) and the short Lumaajuuq (2010).

"It was really good for those of us involved to go through this and kind of process our own experiences with the exact same story."

Reliving the recent past

For the young cast of actors, reaching into the recent past to relive the community's experiences was no easy task.

Emerald Macdonald, who is Aglok MacDonald's sister, was a child when the story unfolded in real life so she didn't fully understand what was happening at the time but being a part of the retelling and reliving of those experiences has been difficult nonetheless, she said.

Paul Nutarariaq, who plays one of the youth, said he hopes the film will bring more attention to the North and the need for access to resources like mental health professionals.

"Dealing with the emotional trauma that we have and dealing with a lot stuff on suicide and family life — that was hardest part emotionally," he said.

"Luckily we had a very supportive cast and crew. Once we cut, we all hugged and cried together all the time."