Taking its name from a Tahltan First Nation word meaning both “our land beautiful” and “our mind beautiful,” Konelīne captures the splendour of remote northwestern British Columbia and tells the story of those who call this magnificent land home. Celebrated Canadian documentarian Nettie Wild (FIX: The Story of an Addicted City) directs, writes, and produces this unique portrait of the Tahltan territory and the people whose identities are so closely tied to this land.
Winner of the 2016 Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award at Hot Docs Film Festival, and shot in majestic CinemaScope, Konelīne explores the breathtaking landscapes and contradictions of the land and provides a glimpse of the Canadian wilderness in the throes of change. Nicknamed the “Golden
Triangle” by gold and copper mining companies, and the “Canadian Serengeti” by hunters, the rich natural resources and beauty of the Tahltan land has attracted interest and visitors from across the country, all united by their love and admiration for the northern British Columbian wilderness.
Conceived as a cinematic poem, Konelīne offers a succession of stunning images—from the dazzling Northern Lights, to horses swimming across the Stikine River, to a 16,000-pound electrical cable being carried over the mountains via helicopter—that will remain indelibly imprinted on your memory. Capturing both the majesty of the land and the eerily impressive spectacle of encroaching industrialization, director Wild and her cinematographer Van Royko (Monsoon) visualize one of the crucial issues of our century with striking immediacy and enduring artistry.
“If you’re looking for a simple take on the politics of development in the wilds of British Columbia, keep looking. If, on the other hand, you can handle some moral ambiguity being served by fantastic visuals, then keep looking at this beautiful, complicated, compelling documentary by Nettie Wild.” (Chris Knight, National Post)
“This subtle, beautiful and remarkably even-handed documentary examines what it means to live near the Red Chris gold and copper mine among the sweeping landscapes of northwestern British Columbia. Filmmaker Nettie Wild skillfully juxtaposes a soundtrack of gentle ruminations about nature, culture and economics spoken by local band members, white hunters and mine workers with a meditative film of ceaseless activity. (…) All these people have a stake in the land, and the mine poses the painful dilemma of economics versus environmentalism.” (Kate Taylor, The Globe and Mail)