Sled Dogs (film)

Last updated
Sled Dogs
Directed by Fern Levitt
Produced by Fern Levitt
Arnie Zipursky
Edited byFrank Cassano
Production
company
Distributed bySearch Engine Films
Release date
  • December 3, 2016 (2016-12-03)(Whistler)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Sled Dogs is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Fern Levitt and released in 2016. [1] The film explores the Iditarod, raising allegations of animal cruelty among breeders, trainers and kennelers of the event's sled dogs. [2] However, at least one dog keeper tried to obtain a legal injunction against the film's premiere at the Whistler Film Festival, alleging that Levitt had inaccurately depicted the actual dog care ethics of sled dog handlers, misrepresenting footage of an unethical commercial pet breeder rather than speaking to or filming companies actually involved in the care or training of sled dogs. [3] A sled dog operator also filed a similar complaint with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation after the film was broadcast on Documentary Channel in 2017, resulting in a report by CBC ombudsman Esther Enkin. [4]

Contents

Fern Levitt, producer/director of Sled Dogs with dogs, Brody (Husky) and Odin (Collie-Shepherd mix). Photo: Jackie Brown Fern Levitt with her dogs, Odin and Brody.jpg
Fern Levitt, producer/director of Sled Dogs with dogs, Brody (Husky) and Odin (Collie-Shepherd mix). Photo: Jackie Brown

Awards and Nominations

The film received a Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards, for Best Editing in a Documentary (Frank Cassano), Documentary category, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and won the World Documentary Award at the Whistler Film Festival. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian Husky</span> Dog breed

The Siberian Husky is a medium-sized working sled dog breed. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family. It is recognizable by its thickly furred double coat, erect triangular ears, and distinctive markings, and is smaller than the similar-looking Alaskan Malamute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race</span> Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at least 5 must be on the towline at the finish line, cover the distance in 8–15 days or more. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams but evolved into today's highly competitive race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sled dog</span> Working dog

A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Buser</span> Swiss dog musher

Martin Buser is a champion of sled dog racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Husky</span> Dog type

Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that maintain arctic breed traits represent an ever-changing crossbreed of the fastest dogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog crossbreed</span> Dog type

Dog crossbreeds, sometimes called designer dogs, are dogs which have been intentionally bred from two or more recognized dog breeds. They are not dogs with no purebred ancestors, but are not otherwise recognised as breeds in their own right, and do not necessarily breed true.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Togo (dog)</span> Sled dog who ran in the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska

Togo was the lead sled dog of musher Leonhard Seppala and his dog sled team in the 1925 serum run to Nome across central and northern Alaska. Despite covering a far greater distance than any other lead dogs on the run, over some of the most dangerous parts of the trail, his role was left out of contemporary news of the event at the time, in favor of the lead dog for the last leg of the relay, Balto, whom Seppala also owned and had bred.

The Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race, or Jr. Iditarod, is a 148- to 158-mile sled dog race for mushers between the ages of 14 through 17, which is patterned after the 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that is said to be 1,049 miles (1,688.2 km). The race is held outside Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska, and was the first long-distance race for juvenile mushers.

John Zaritsky was a Canadian documentarian/filmmaker. His work has been broadcast in 35 countries and screened at more than 40 film festivals around the world; in 1983, his film Just Another Missing Kid won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramy Brooks</span> Alaska Native dog musher, kennel owner, and motivational speaker

Ramy "Ray" Brooks is an Alaska Native kennel owner and operator, motivational speaker, and dog musher who specializes in long-distance races. He is a two-time runner up in the 1,049+ mi Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska, and a former winner of the 1,000 mi (1,600 km) Yukon Quest dog sled race across both Canada and the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Mackey</span> American dog musher (1970–2022)

Lance Mackey was an American dog musher and dog sled racer from Fairbanks, Alaska. Mackey was a four-time winner of both the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Yukon Quest and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton Marshall</span> Jamaican dog musher (born 1980)

Newton Marshall is a professional independent dogsled musher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaica Dogsled Team</span>

The Jamaica Dogsled Team is a team of sled dogs and mushers headquartered at Chukka Caribbean Adventures in Ocho Rios, located in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. The dog team is made up of strays rescued by the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and offers dryland dogsled rides, along with the adventure center's other outdoor experiences. In addition, the two mushers Newton Marshall and Damion Robb, compete in sled races throughout the US and Canada, using leased dog teams. Country music singer Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the team's major sponsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistler sled dog cull</span>

The Whistler sled dog cull was a controversial cull of over 100 sled dogs in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, that prompted investigation by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It occurred on April 21 and April 23, 2010, performed by Robert Fawcett, who later filed a claim at WorkSafeBC for post-traumatic stress disorder. Fawcett, an employee of Howling Dog Tours Whistler Inc., was allegedly told to euthanize the dogs because of a downturn in business after the 2010 Olympic Games.

<i>Okpiks Dream</i> 2015 Canadian film

Okpik's Dream is a Canadian documentary film, released in 2015. The film centres on Harry Okpik, an Inuk man from Quaqtaq, who witnessed a government slaughter of Inuit sled dogs as a child and later lost his leg in a hunting accident, and now prepares to compete as a dog musher in the 600 km Ivakkak sled dog race in Nunavik.

Kosher Love is a 2017 Canadian documentary film of love as understood by Orthodox and Hasidic Jews. The documentary was directed by filmmaker Evan Beloff and aired on the CBC-TV television channel. The film was also entered into Jewish Film Festivals in Canada, the United States, and in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaskan husky</span> Dog breed

The Alaskan husky is a breed of medium-sized working sled dog, developed specifically for its performance as such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fern Levitt</span> Canadian documentary maker

Fern Levitt is a Canadian-born animal activist, documentary producer and director. Her films focus on human rights, the Holocaust, discrimination against African-Americans in the US, animal welfare, and socially relevant issues. She is best known for her 2016 documentary Sled Dogs, which aired on the CBC Documentary channel. It explores the Iditarod, raising allegations of animal cruelty among breeders, trainers and kennelers of the event's sled dogs.

References

  1. "Documentary 'Sled Dogs' exposes harsh realities of Iditarod". Los Angeles Times , October 5, 2017.
  2. "Review: ‘Sled Dogs’ Exposes Abuse of Working Animals". The New York Times , July 27. 2017.
  3. "Musher threatens legal action over Sled Dogs documentary". CBC News, November 27, 2016.
  4. "Point-of-View Documentaries | The Case of Sled Dogs". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, January 29, 2018.
  5. "Apr 08, 2018, page T8 - Valley Morning Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  6. Pat Mullen, "Canadian Screen Awards Preview: Picks and Foolish Predictions". Cinemablographer, March 11, 2018.