Filmmaker Trépanier releases trilogy for Canada’s Parks Day

By Rob Paul

To celebrate Canada's Parks Day, award-winning filmmaker and renowned landscape painter Cory Trépanier is doing something special.

The Caledon resident, and 2018 Town Walk of Fame recipient, will be releasing his Into the Arctic documentary trilogy for free.

Trépanier grew up in Caledon and raised his family there. He still resides there to this day and has referenced the natural beauty of the Town as his inspiration in art growing up.

Through his art and films, he has been recognized as one of Canada's top 100 living explorers by Canadian Geographic. 

The trilogy (A Painter's Odyssey, Into the Artic, and Into the Arctic II) documents his painting journey in Canada's North and explores the power and the beauty of what nature has to offer.

The films will be posted to Trépanier's YouTube page (youtube.com/user/campsideproductions) so that they can be viewed, “to anyone, anywhere,” he says.

“Painting and filming the Canadian Arctic has been challenging and awe-inspiring, bringing me face-to-face with some of our planet's greatest natural wonders,” said Trépanier. “These films share that awe, and I hope that they also inspire conversation about the North, the Inuit for who it is home, the power of nature and the importance of humanity's role in protecting it.”

Now, with the Canadian Arctic closed to most travel for almost two years, Trépanier partnered with Parks Canada to give people all over Canada and the world the opportunity to embark upon a journey to six of Canada's most remote Arctic National Parks (Ivvavik, Sirmilik, Auyuittuq, Aulavik, Tuktut Nogait, and Quttinirpaaq) at the top of the world while taking in the landscapes in between.

“I partnered with Parks Canada, Destination Canada, and Northwest Territories Tourism to give away my trilogy for free so everybody can access them on YouTube,” he said. “We wanted to make all three films available in the highest resolution for people to have a taste of the experience. 

“The third film has only ever aired in Germany and France on a network called Arctic, but it's never aired anywhere else, so we wanted to bypass broadcasters by doing this. As lovely as going to broadcast has been (with his previous work) there are restrictions with that, as far as allowing people to view the films. So, we said, ‘to heck with it, let's pull it all down and make it all free.' Parks loved it so that's why we're doing it. We're so excited with the 15-year project coming to a head this fall.”

Trépanier sees it as an opportunity for anybody and everybody to be able to learn and experience Indigenous culture, encounter majestic wildlife, meet the great people of the land, and be drawn closer to the fragile and rapidly changing Arctic. 

“I'm excited that viewers from all over the world will have a chance to discover the inspiring stories and landscapes of northern national parks in Canada,” said Ron Hallman, President and CEO of Parks Canada. “From the comfort of their homes, they'll be able to embark on an Arctic adventure and learn about the significance of these far-reaching national parks, including histories, cultures, and contributions of Inuit.”

Over the course of more than a decade, Trépanier has travelled 60,000 kilometres through six National Parks and 16 Inuit communities to capture the landscapes of the Canadian Arctic. Armed with perseverance and an unwavering dedication to his vision, he has created over 100 oil paintings and three documentaries during the course of his art-fuelled expeditions. 

This fall, his five-year travelling Into the Arctic exhibition comes home to Ontario for its grand finale and a 300 page Into the Arctic coffee table book will be published alongside it to celebrate the project. 

“We ended up with about 100 paintings and three films from my journeys across the Arctic and some of the work has been touring since as far back as 2007, across 14 venues in Canada and the U.S.—it went to Monaco last spring—as an exhibition,” Trépanier said. “It's finally coming all coming home to Ontario for the first time as the tour comes to an end—it's slated for Science North in Sudbury on November 13. 

“We figured with the exhibition finally coming here that it was time to get the films out there for everybody. The coffee table book will come out too and it's got about 100 paintings in it and will have words and contributions from different people who have been involved with me through my journey.”

To celebrate the free launch of the Into the Arctic film trilogy, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society will host a virtual live pre-event with Trépanier on July 15 at 7 p.m.

The event is free for anyone to watch and by registering for the event at eventbrite.com/e/a-journey-north-with-artist-filmmaker-cory-trepanier-tickets-162345025341. By registering, you will be entered for a chance to win a framed Trépanier “Along the Ice” canvas giclée reproduction from Auyuittuq National Park worth $250.

To learn more about Trépanier's journey and art, visit corytrepanier.com.