A Dene filmmaker and his 'Cold Road' to Indigenous representation on screen

Dene filmmaker Kelvin Redvers wants audiences for his latest movie to sit on the edges of their seats.

An isolated, snow-covered highway in the middle of northern Canada sets the scene for Cold Road,a thriller that tells the story of an Indigenous womandriving with her dog to her remote First Nation to visit her dying mother.

While she's driving, the woman is hunted down by a stranger in a big rig.

Released in January, the film iscurrently being screened in 18 movie theatres across Canada, including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.

Radio Active8:52New thriller shines a light on Indigenous filmmaking

We meet local Cree and Mtis actor Roseanne Supernault, who has a leading role in the Indigenous-produced film Cold Road.

Hailing from Hay River, N.W.T., Redvers said he loves and feels particularly inspired by thriller movies from the '70s and '80s. Hewanted to be a filmmaker since his teens, but didn't see people who looked like him or places familiar to him on the big screen.

"I'm from a place where it takes forever to drive places; I think a lot of Canadians know it can be three hours sometimes to drive from town to town," he said.

"But what if you put those two worlds together?"

Filming primarily took place in Hay River, N.W.T., but some scenes were shot in Calgary and Athabasca, Alta.,145 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Redvers took inspiration from early Steven Spielberg and Coenbrothers flicks like Dueland Blood Simple.Modern movies, he said, often feel artificial with CGI, so he wantedthe film to get back to basics. All outdoor sceneswere filmed in cold weather, including the stunt sequences and action scenes, he said.

The storylinetouches on themes like missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, andthe overall fear of driving alone on a snowy highway at night.

"It's everything you would think of when you think of a thriller, but then add in things that you just don't normally see on a movie screen, like the Indigenous female leads," Redvers said.

One of the film's draws is its all-Indigenous cast and crew.Having that was important, Redvers said, because it's rare to see in the current movie industry.

It is starting to change, he said.

"There's been a lot of movement and there's been some really great indie Canadian Indigenous films," Redvers said.

The film stars Cree and Mtis actress Roseanne Supernaultin the lead role of Tracy, alongside Caribou the dog, as Pretzel.

Supernault is knownfor her roles in the television series Blackstoneand the 2013 film Mana.

In an interview on CBC's Radio Active on Thursday, she saidit's crucial to have Indigenous people in various rolesand positions in the creation of films and TV shows centredaround Indigenous narratives.

"When we are telling our stories, we are bringing our spirits, our energy, our ancestors with us as well and they're present with us," Supernault said.

"I think that Cold Road in a lot of ways can be a touchstone to how Indigenous cinema can be approached, how it can be delivered, how it can be manifested."

Daybreak Alberta14:23New thriller Cold Road opens across Alberta

A new thriller taking place on a remote frozen highway is now playing in theatres across Alberta.Cold Road is about an Indigenous woman named Tracy, who goes on a long road trip with her dog Pretzel. She is travelling to see her mother who had a stroke. Tracy is mostly driving alone on the highway, except for a semi-truck that's following her...And eventually she realizes she is being stalked. Director Kelvin Redvers shares why this movie was important to him to create.

Intense reactions have been pouring in since the movie's release last month, said Redvers. He said he'sheard stories ofaudiences hiding under their hoods, and jumping out of their seats while watching the movie.

One womannearly broke her husband's hand from squeezing it so hard, he said.

"You make movies to make people feel and go on an experience and I think that's what we've been able to do," Redvers said.

The movie will be released on digital platforms later this year.