A short film made in Fernie is making a big impact at film festivals across the province.
The documentary, ‘CARCA,’ produced by Adam Bailey from Calgary, follows Fernie Alpine Resort ski patroller Steve Ruskay as he introduces viewers to the potential of cats in avalanche rescue situations.
“The movie documents the first live avalanche recovery by a CARCA trained avalanche rescue cat,” he said.
“It’s been an ongoing idea for a couple of years and finally Adam and I decided to take it to the next level and make the film.”
Ruskay said cats make great avalanche rescuers because of their ability to cheat death.
“One of our slogans is ‘Cats have nine lives and you only have one.’ I think it’s important to remember this,” he said.
CARCA (Canadian Avalanche Rescue Cats Association) won The People’s Choice Award at the Fernie Film Festival in February and at the Golden Film Festival in March, where it also won Best Drama.
Prize money from the events has been invested in the production of a CARCA website and CARCA t-shirts, which will be for sale soon via the website.
Bailey is waiting to hear whether the film has made the cut for the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado in September.
Other than Ruskay, the film also stars ski patroller Kevin Giffin’s cats, Toby and Taylor, and Bailey’s own cat, Cleo.
“The whole film was shot over a day-and-a-half in Fernie,” said Ruskay. “There are already talks of a follow-up.”
To follow CARCA’s progress visit www.carca.ca