Experiencing Interruptions?

Humboldt: The New Season

When a devastating highway accident in April 2018 thrust Humboldt, Saskatchewan into the international spotlight, voices from across Canada and from around the world responded with condolences, vigils, and tributes. As the shock subsided and the world stepped back to let the community grieve, the directors of Humboldt: The New Season stayed with the families for 11 months, beginning in August 2018, as training for the new hockey season began, and the families and players gradually adapted to their new reality, including the trial and sentencing of the truck driver, with surprising and touching results.

Humboldt: The New Season follows five of the survivors: Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter as they return to play for the 2018-2019 Humboldt hockey season with a different coaching staff and new teammates; Tyler Smith, Kaleb Dahlgren, and Layne Matechuk who continue their recovery while trying to pursue their love for hockey in new avenues; the late Logan Boulet's parents who carry on their son’s legacy by spreading the message of organ donation, something Logan helped raise unprecedented awareness about across Canada; and Mark Cross' parents as they see their son's memory live on through the York Lions hockey program where he was a former player (and where Kaleb was recruited). This is a story of healing without ever forgetting or letting go.

  • Kevin Eastwood
    Director
    After the Sirens, The Death Debate, Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH
  • Lucas Frison
    Director
    Talent, Fragments of Penny, Modern Mimes
  • Kevin Eastwood
    Writer
    After the Sirens, The Death Debate, Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH
  • Chris McIvor
    Producer
    Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier, Play Fair, Fostering Hope
  • Libby Lea
    Producer
    Predator’s Last Stand, Fostering Hope
  • Tyler Smith
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Television
  • Genres:
    documentary, sports
  • Runtime:
    52 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 30, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    355,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED, FS7, 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • UpstreamFlix
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
  • CBC
    Country: Canada
    Rights: Internet, Video on Demand, Pay Per View, Airline, Free TV
Director Biography - Kevin Eastwood, Lucas Frison

ABOUT KEVIN EASTWOOD
Kevin is an award-winning filmmaker who works in both documentary and drama. Most recently he directed After the Sirens, a documentary for CBC about the epidemic of PTSD amongst paramedics that was nominated for a 2019 Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Program. He also directed The Death Debate, a behind-the-scenes look at the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case on physician assisted-dying, as well as seasons 1 and 3 of Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH, an award-winning documentary series about Canada’s third-busiest emergency room. His credits as a producer include the documentary features Vancouver: No Fixed Address, Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World and Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson; the CBC television series The Romeo Section; and the movies Preggoland, Fido and The Delicate Art of Parking.

ABOUT LUCAS FRISON
Lucas Frison is a 2014 graduate of the University of Regina with a BFA in Film Production. After finishing film school, he founded Prairie Cat Productions and directed and produced the short film Fragments of Penny. In 2015 he started work on the comedy feature film Talent, which was a selection of the 2016/2017 Telefilm Talent to Watch program. Talent was released in 2018 and saw festival play in Dublin, Montreal, Red Deer, Regina and Rome. Lucas has also been a cooperating artist for All Nation's Healin' Thru Artz and William Derby School where he taught film production units to youth.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“To the rest of the world, Assistant Coach Mark Cross was one of people who died on April 6, 2018 in the Humboldt Broncos accident. To me, he was a lifelong best friend. With this documentary, I wanted to honour Mark and the 28 people he worked with on the team. We filmed with the Broncos and a number of families for one year following the accident, and their resiliency has shown me that the memory of the lives lost will never fade,” said Lucas Frison.

“I learned so much from everyone we met making this film: about healing, about resilience, and about finding peace – and meaning – in the aftermath of immense loss. It was profoundly humbling," added Kevin Eastwood. “This is a story that had a lot of media attention. In the early days, we’d have just set up our camera when suddenly other news outlets would show up and set up their cameras on either side of us. Whenever that happened, we’d turn our camera in the opposite direction. After a while that became our focus - to keep looking in the direction others weren’t.”