On a night fishing excursion on the Saskatchewan River, two friends revisit a wound they cannot heal.

Director's Biography:

Simon Garez is a Saskatoon-based director and actor who works in French and English. Raised in Nipawin, Simon holds a BFA in theatre performance from Simon Fraser University and a diploma in acting from the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. He recently completed his directorial debut Torch Narrows and his second film Gentle Hum of Spring is in post-production. Alongside his directing and performance practice, Simon works with bees and honey production.

Director's Statement:

I am a second generation French-Canadian filmmaker from Saskatchewan, Canada. My parents immigrated to Canada from France in the 1980's, and we grew up speaking French in an Anglophone community.

My debut film, Torch Narrows, is drawn from my experience of growing up in a small town in Saskatchewan. The story centers on a traumatic bond between two young men, one Indigenous and one white, as they try to process the tragic death of a mutual friend in a stunt at a hydroelectric dam. Told in an impressionistic stream of images and memories, it's a chronicle of a place - the Saskatchewan River and the rural culture around it - as much as an individual story. The leading role is portrayed by Danny Knight, a proud member of the Muskoday First Nation, in his debut film role.