Revisit the doc that started the Nuisance Bear journey before catching the feature. The short film by Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden stands up in its own right as the expanded feature version continues to have legs on the circuit. Nuisance Bear, the feature, screens at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on November 4 and 5 as part of the Doc Soup series ahead of its theatrical run and release on MUBI. Watch the short doc beforehand to see how boldly and originally the filmmakers expand the story from the short doc.
Nuisance Bear, the short, features a bravura long take as Weisman and Osio Vanden track a polar bear’s journey through Churchill, Manitoba as climate changes forces a detour in his usual migration path. However, trotting closer to populated areas brings a threat in its own right as the bears’ appearance spawns a great migration of its own as tourists flock to Churchill to catch a glimpse of the rare beast. The film drolly observes the observers as the camera follows the bear’s trek and shutterbugs tail him in hot pursuit of the perfect shot. The short doc made the Oscar shortlist and earned the Cinema Eye Honors prize for best short doc, among other prizes.
The feature film contains a snippet of the short, but expands the scope while drawing parallels with the threats that Inuit and Indigenous populations face on the land as well. Nuisance Bear retains its offbeat humour while finding a bigger picture story about the enduring impact of settlers in Canada, as humans and non-human animals alike are forced to adapt to changes they didn’t invite.
“It was really thrilling for us going up North because we went up there thinking we’re going to see polar bears in the wild. The reason why this place is so popular is because it has infrastructure to get close to them, and it’s a community that a bear’s migration path goes through and has always gone through. So when we were there, I was like, ‘Oh, our framing choices make such a big difference,’” Osio Vanden told Jason Gorber in an interview during Sundance where Nuisance Bear won the Grand Jury Prize. The film also won at Planet in Focus in October.
“We love the short, and we don’t want to diminish it in any way, but it was like a detour in terms of the development of the feature,” added Weisman. “From our first trip to Churchill we knew that we wanted to tell this longer story. The central conflict was the juxtaposition of these two communities that are, in Arctic terms, very close together, but have completely different worldviews.”
Watch Nuisance Bear the short below.
Catch the feature Nov. 4 and 5 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema’s Doc Soup series.
Read more about the film in our review and an essay about docs from the North.
Please check your local listings for additional festivals, event screenings, or streaming runs.
POV is a media partner of the Doc Soup series.
