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PUCK YEAH 29: The Hockey Film feat. filmmaker Chris Aylward

'The Hockey Film' is a documentary currently in production that aims to tell a more grassroots tale, featuring characters of the game from Canada and New Zealand. On this week's podcast we catch up with filmmaker Chris Aylward to find out more about this special project.

0:00 – Introducing Chris Aylward, director of ‘The Hockey Film’ and talking hockey with Canadians, our favourite pastime.
3:56 – How Chris came to meet BHL President Cam Green, who both grew up in St Catharines, ON but had never met before
6:21 – The beginnings of ‘The Hockey Film’

8:12 – Chris getting his childhood hero Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Alan Bester involved with the documentary
14:55 – The long road of development and production for a documentary while also working a full-time job
19:10 – The one goal for ‘The Hockey Film’ and aiming for Toronto International Film Festival
20:20 – The variety of people who feature in the documentary, including New Zealand’s Backyard Hockey League
24:25 – Pond hockey in New Zealand, it is a thing!
25:50 – Interviewing Walter Gretzky, father to The Great One

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Filmmaker Chris Aylward with Walter Gretzky, father of Wayne Gretzky.

28:10 – Actually small-talking about the weather and how it’s affected the documentary’s production
31:13 – Chris growing up near Buffalo, NY as a Leafs and Oilers fan
33:07 – The community of St Catharines and the Niagara Ice Dogs
36:22 – The original working title of ‘The Hockey Film’ and why Chris changed it
38:13 – Intertwining all the different people into the documentary that will tell the story of ‘The Hockey Film’ and how Chris plans on doing that
39:08 – Other hockey documentaries that have inspired Chris
40:24 – Chris dreams of coming down to New Zealand to play hockey outdoors at Lake Tekapo
42:00 – Including the NZIHL’s West Auckland Admirals into the documentary
43:19 – Facing setbacks and the current status of production
50:19 – When will the film’s production see Chris shooting in New Zealand?

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New Zealand’s hockey community features heavily in ‘The Hockey Film.’

53:22 – Chris’ epic story of creating his own POV camera for his goalie mask to film his games before GoPros were invented
1:02:49 – If the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup before ‘The Hockey Film’ has finished production, would Chris include the victory parade in his documentary?
1:09:20 – The narrative structure of ‘The Hockey Film’ and finding the right balance for personal storytelling and the documentary’s characters
1:15:30 – Release plans for ‘The Hockey Film’ in New Zealand, Canada, and other film festivals
1:23:05 –  We say goodbye to Chris Aylward and quickly wrap things up

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For more information check out THE HOCKEY FILM online. Photos provided by Chris Aylward.

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