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Solo Canoe

Paddling and portaging over 80km through the pristine landscape of Temagami, Ontario, Solo Canoe captures the serenity of being alone in the wilderness on a canoe trip.

  • Matt Steeves
    Director
  • Matt Steeves
    Cinematographer
  • Matt Steeves
    Editor
  • Joanne Jackson
    Producer
    The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, The Messenger
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 22, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Matt Steeves

Matt Steeves is a documentary filmmaker from Ontario, Canada, with a passion for discovering stories off the beaten path. After majoring in film production at the University of Windsor in 2012, Matt moved to Toronto and began working for the Director’s Guild of Canada as an Assistant Director.

Since 2015, Matt has been directing, shooting and editing films which aim to capture the beauty of the wilderness in hopes of aiding in it's conservation.

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Director Statement

For the last ten years I have been coming to Temagami, Ontario, home to some of the most precious old growth forests, canoe routes that Canada has to offer.

Alone in the backcountry, each stroke of my paddle carried me further away from the outside world. As I drifted into the entrance of the Wakimika River, I paused to take in the silence of ancient pine forest that surrounded me. In that moment, a fish jumped out of the water in front of my canoe, as if welcoming me on my journey ahead. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel like I was alone out there after all.

Over the next five days I travelled up the Lady Evelyn River and through several gorgeous lakes and rivers. I carried all on my own food, equipment and camping gear up steep rocky hills, around waterfalls and through 3km stretches of ancient pine forests while filming myself.

Solo Canoe is an ode to one of my greatest inspirations, Canadian filmmaker Bill Mason and his signature red canoe. This is a story about the stillness that can be found by going alone into the wilderness on a canoe trip.