Team Bones

Yukon, Canada | 57 min | 2013

This documentary looks at the nature of trauma, disability and competition. The film focuses on Michael, an amputee, orthopedic surgeon and solo kayaker from the UK, as he competes in the world’s longest paddle race: The Yukon River Quest. The paddlers race a mighty river that is mostly wilderness: 740 km from Whitehorse to Dawson City. As Michael reveals his story, and the front-running canoe teams from Northern Saskatchewan (Team Dene) and Texas duel in a competition of cultures and wills, we’re drawn into the personal challenge solo paddlers create for themselves. These people are not racing other people, they’re in a conflict with themselves.