Underdog

Documentary
EN | Canada | 10 min | 2016

In the wake of her mother’s death, dog sledder Yuka Honda prepares to compete in the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon. As Yuka launches into her training with a heavy heart there are several obstacles in the way: finding the strength to train while still grieving her mother's death and a lack of finances to carry out the full-time job of training her dogs.

We follow Yuka as she meets these challenges with an infectious spirit of determination. As training comes to a close Yuka makes final preparations for her journey to the start line in Fairbanks, Alaska. This ten minute observational documentary captures the pre-race excitement and tension in advance of a several day race through unimaginably extreme conditions.