The Wild Hunt

This is a story of the games people play. Sometimes pure fantasy, sometimes startlingly real, sometimes the line between those two extremes begins to fade. Set in a dark forest, this debut feature for director Alexandre Franchi opens as an ancient European ritual is about to take place. It is a reenactment of a battle between the power-hungry Celts, rampaging Vikings, secretive wood elves and a mysterious shaman named Murtagh. Meanwhile, a young man, Erick Magnusson, decides to follow his estranged girlfriend into this medieval re-enactment game only to discover that she has been seduced by one of the players. As the down-to-earth Erik treks deeper into the game in search of his lost love, he inadvertently disrupts the delicate balance of the make-believe fantasyland. Passions are unleashed, rules are broken and the good-hearted game turns into a tragedy of mythic proportion, proving that the worlds of fantasy and reality can truly be a treacherous junction.

Named the Best Canadian Feature at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, The Wild Hunt also won the Audience Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival.

Also see: Alexandre Franchi and Mark Krupa talk about the making of The Wild Hunt.
Also see: Inside Quebec for April 2010.