At Whistler Film Festival, 500 Days in the Wild wins this year's Audience Award

Documentary follows B.C. filmmaker Dianne Whelan’s 24,000-kilometre trek along the Trans Canada Trail

Dianne Whelan’s epic *500 Days in the Wild*.

THE VOTES ARE IN: Following the completion of the Whistler Film Festival’s in-person screenings, this year’s Audience Award goes to Dianne Whelan’s epic 500 Days in the Wild.

In the documentary that premiered on December 1, Whelan travels the entire 24,000-kilometre Trans Canada Trail over a period of six years, becoming the first-ever person to do so. The filmmaker, author, and photographer is co-executive producer of the Paramount+ Original movie alongside Christine Haebler, with producer Betsy Carson.

“It’s very gratifying to know that the story has touched so many hearts,” Whelan says in a release. “We’re looking forward to bringing the film to many more audiences next year in theatres across Canada.”

Ahead of the film’s premiere, Whelan connected with Stir about undertaking the enormous journey, and the various fears and challenges she faced along the way. From evading the threat of hypothermia to paddling over 7,000 kilometres on canoe, Whelan’s done it all. “You start really identifying with the world in a very different way, and listening to it in a different way,” she tells Stir.

Whelan’s portrait of human perseverance on the longest trail in the world beautifully juxtaposes her personal reflections with breathtaking footage of Canada’s environment, starting in Newfoundland and ending on Vancouver Island.

The selection process for the award was left in the hands of the audience members, who voted on their favourite feature-length narrative or documentary film viewed in theatres from November 29 to December 4, and online from December 4 to 10.

Online streaming for select films shown at the festival—including The Burning Season, which won the Borsos Award for best screenplay, and Atikamekw Suns (Soleils Atikamekw), winner of the Borso nod for best Canadian feature—is available until December 17.

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Emily Lyth

Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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