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