Northern Lights, a feature film directed by Winnipeg-based Memory Pill Films, finished filming portions of the movie last Wednesday in and around St. Jean Baptiste.
Set in the “unforgiving landscape” of rural Manitoba, the coming-of-age drama is about 18-year-old Polly, a snowmobiler desperate to break free from her small town and go pro.
Through his local and provincial connections with the snowmobile community, Doug Godard—chairman of risk management of trails with SnoMan, president for the central region, and member with the local Border Valley SnoGoers—found himself touring the area with the film’s reps back in December.
“We were able to check off many of the boxes required for the movie with St. Jean: the park, the river, and being within 40 miles of Winnipeg,” Godard explained. “They filmed around St. Jean from Monday to Wednesday, renting the local hall for seven days and to warm up and have lunch while filming. There was a huge community effort that made this happen for the crew.”
Lunches were catered by Morris Bigway, the RM of Montcalm prepped the park trails, portable toilets were brought in, and vehicles and snowmobiles were stored on residents’ driveways and at the local fire hall.
“The film needed a race track to practise, so they used the field behind the park with permission, along with groomed roadways throughout the campground,” said Godard, of his local club’s contribution of trail groomers. “A lot of businesses in the area received more income while the crew was here.”
With the crew using the river for portions of the shooting, Godard found himself using his most recent role of chair for trails safety and auditing, meeting with the film’s safety officer to help with planning.
“I’ve been riding along water for sixty years,” he noted. “Does a manager like to hear if they see slush that I’ll shut them down? Don’t go past the bend in the river.”
Despite his best efforts, some equipment broke through the ice at the fork of the Plum River and the Red.
“It was only knee-deep water,” Godard chuckled. “There was a different respect for me after that happened. At the end of the day, the important thing is the safety of the crew. No one got hurt but some of the crew probably got their feet wet.”
Although Godard encouraged the filming to take place in his local community, he didn’t expect to be so actively involved in production.
“Suddenly, I was made a part of it. We worked long, 12-hour days and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a hectic pace, with lights at night.”
Godard started helping with his snowmobile due to limited accessibility of the crew’s equipment for the river shots.
“I slowly got more involved in the support of the crew and ended up being a valuable asset to camera duty—the still shots, racing shots, the pace vehicle that goes ahead, up and down the river beside the racers. The camera was attached on my sled and I got very involved in the action.”
“Would I do it again? It was exciting but I’m glad it’s over. I’m not used to long days and the pace they travel at. We got some beautiful shots with the snowmobile racing through four inches of water. The splash was unreal,” said Godard. “The right people were able to get there to help.”
The casting company for the film also recruited locals to act as spectators for some of the racing scenes. The film continues to film in Cooks Creek and at the Beausejour racetrack this month.
