An award-winning feature-length documentary about the relationship between humans and wolves called Part of the Pack, will have its Vancouver premiere at the Vancouver International Film Centre January 27 - February 2. Q&A screenings with the filmmakers will be on January 27 at 3:30 pm and January 28 at 4 pm at the Vancity Theatre. The Victoria premiere will be at the Victoria Film Festival on February 10.

Co-directed by award-winning wildlife filmmakers Isabelle Groc and Mike McKinlay, Part of the Pack explores our relationship to the wild through different stories in which people and wolves get closer to each other.

Long feared, the wolves that have survived in places such as Vancouver Island in British Columbia, now live in a habitat that is becoming increasingly encroached upon by human development. At the same time our fascination with the wolf — as the quintessential symbol of something wild and dangerous — has become stronger. As urban lifestyles have increasingly removed us from nature, some people long to find that connection again and encountering a wolf can satisfy that craving for the natural world. Some people have even taken a step further by bringing a wolf or wolf-dog into their homes (literally into their living rooms) as a way to feel closer to the wild.

Part of the Pack follows three such stories where people have developed a unique relationship to individual wolves, and explores the ethical questions around creating intimacy with the wild.

The featured subjects include:

• Gary Allan, a self-described “wolf educator” who tours schools with his wolf, Tundra, and who keeps multiple other wolves on his property in Nanaimo, BC.
• Cheryl Alexander, a conservation photographer who achieved international fame for her photos of a lone wolf named Takaya who lived on a small island off Victoria, BC.
• Samantha Law, a woman living in Vancouver who finds comfort and meaning after a traumatic period in her life, from her relationship with her wolf-dog, Luna.

In addition to this ensemble of characters, the film features insights from wolf behaviour experts, conservation officers, first nation leaders, and an animal law lawyer. As human development continues to encroach on nature, and more of us find ourselves face to face with wildlife in our own backyards, the stories of these three animal lovers seeking a connection with one of the most feared and mythologized beasts in history, may provide lessons for the rest of us in how to navigate our relationship with wildlife – no matter where we live.

Part of the Pack is written by Isabelle Groc, co-directed by Isabelle Groc and Mike McKinlay, with cinematography and editing by Mike McKinlay, and produced by Kevin Eastwood of Optic Nerve Films.

The film has played at film festivals across Canada and beyond, including the Cinefést Sudbury International Film Festival, the Calgary International Film Festival, the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in New York and the Ireland Wildlife Film Festival, and the film recently won Best Feature Documentary at the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival.

Vancouver screenings at the VIFF Centre:

Vancity Theatre: Friday, January 27, 3:30pm; Saturday, January 28, 4:00pm (Q&A with the filmmakers).

VIFF Studio Theatre: Sunday, January 29, 4:30pm; Monday, January 30, 6:00pm; Tuesday, January 31, 2:00pm; Wednesday, February 1, 5:45pm; Thursday, February 2, 6:20pm.

Victoria screening at the Victoria Film Festival:

Blue Ridge Theatre: Sunday, February 10 at 6:15 pm (Q&A with the filmmakers).