Finding Farley is an amazing story from so many perspectives -- outdoors, history, literary, filmmaking, Canadiana, the list goes on. I was delighted to read the documentary took top prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
The documentary follows husband and wife Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison, their toddler and dog as they canoe, hike and sail from their home in Canmore, Alberta to the home of author Farley Mowat in Nova Scotia, tracing the very steps the author had taken many years ago.
Heuer is also the author of "Being Caribou", a book about tracking caribou in their threatened habitat in Northern Canada and Alaska that has received rave reviews from conservationists and scientists alike.
From a personal perspective, I remember reading a piece in the (always great) Rocky Mountain Outlook when Heuer and Allison began their journey and getting chills at the mere thought of it. I read a piece in Canadian Geographic that included a photo of the couple carrying their canoe through downtown Calgary (making a stop as they canoed down the Bow River that skirts the downtown core's edge), only blocks from my old office.
It's extremely nice to see this effort com full circle -- Allison is the filmmaker of the award winning documentary. I can't imagine what this amazing couple will do next!
