Don't be surprised if you recognize the narrator's voice Kina & Yuk: Foxes of the Ice Floe. In fact, it's actress and presenter Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse who lends her voice to this family pet story that hits our screens just in time for spring break.
Directed by Frenchman Guillaume Maidatchevsky (Aïlo: A Lapland Odyssey) and filmed in live-action, “Kina & Yuk: Foxes of the Ice” tells the adventures of a real-life arctic fox couple as they prepare to raise a family on the ice shelf to found the far north of Canada.
But melting ice caused by global warming will eventually separate the two foxes, isolating them each at one end of the ice floe.
“OPAL FILMS”
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse met last November while recording the film's narration in a studio in Montreal. She said she was seduced by this feature film, a mix of family fairy tales and animal films.
“I liked that it was very different from all the other family films that are shown in the cinema,” emphasizes the 32-year-old actress.
“It's not a cartoon and it's not a documentary. It is truly a story told with suspense, a dramatic side and certain climatic aspects. I think it’s fun for parents and children to sit in front of the screen and see something different than what we’re currently watching.”
The topic of climate change is of course at the heart of the story of Kina & Yuk: Foxes of the Ice Floe. The script – co-written by Quebecer Guillaume Lonergan – is based on a true story about an arctic fox that was rescued by fishermen while floating on an ice floe.
However, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse warns that the film is “never heavy-handed or moralistic.”
“This is very relevant [le réchauffement climatique] is the trigger of the story, she states. But the film doesn't try too hard to scare children with this reality. We're just with the facts. Warming is occurring twice as fast in the Arctic as elsewhere.
“We are not going to watch this movie with our children so that they come out of it with a mission. But it’s fun when it raises questions and stimulates discussion.”
Kina & Yuk: Foxes of the Ice Floe, exhibited on February 23rd.