Sunscreen Film Festival 2009

Sledhead is the story of the men on Canada’s National Sledge hockey team and their quest to be the dominant force in this violent, fast-paced game begins long before Selection Camp takes place in a bedroom community of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. It begins, for some, at birth – for others just nine years ago.Paul’s story began as a 15-year-old boy with dreams of playing in the NHL. He was passionate about the game and was a good prospect - until a rut, cut deep into the ice, threw a curve into this future. Paul’s leg was shattered after taking a bad fall in a game. He tore three of the four ligaments in his leg. The star player’s future suddenly dimmed. The NHL does not come calling for what he calls a “gimp.” Still, he soldiered on, continuing to pick up semi-pro games eventually ending up in Israel playing for the National Team. It was here that his able-bodied life would end.Another bad break in his leg led him to a hospital where he underwent knee replacement surgery. Infection set in and eventually, after two long painful years and a near death experience, Paul and his doctor decided to amputate the leg. “June 9th, 1997 was the best day of my life,” he says. “I lost my leg, but started a whole new life that led me to play the best game in the world, representing my country in the Olympics.”As selection camp begins, Paul’s life is taking another turn. For the first time in his life he will live on his own. Since moving out of his childhood home to get married to his high school sweetheart, Paul has never gone to his own bed, in his own home, alone. But that has all changed. His wife of 27 years has asked him for a divorce, telling Paul she hasn’t loved him for the past ten years. It’s devastating news that eventually sends Paul to the brink of a mental breakdown. 21-year-old Greg, Paul’s roommate on the road, is another amp. He has his own set of worries. “I lay awake and think about things like …. I’ve been out on four dates with this girl and she still has no clue that I don’t have feet. I mean, when do I tell her?” Born with both feet twisted backward, Greg is still amazed at how lucid his parents were when they made the decision to amputate their newborn’s feet. “It couldn’t have been an easy decision. They had two options: I could have had a series of operations that would have saved my feet but left me in a walker for life, or amputate. They chose to amputate and I’m glad they did.”As Paul life is changing, so too is Greg’s. He will be put to a test of his honor and credibility and will fight back in a story of twists and power of sheer determination.Other players will also go through their own personal battles. Jean, a hulk of a man known as “The Rock” is teetering on the precipice of a marriage about to fall over the edge. “My whole life revolves around the hockey schedule,” he says. My three-year-old son, my wife, my job … everything revolves around this coming year and the World Championships in Boston.” His wife has been extremely supportive over the years, but it’s tough on their marriage and Jean vows to try to bring a better sense of balance to his life. Deep within himself though, he knows that being a key player on Canada’s national team is one of the most important aspects of his identity and in deep, personal video journals documents his struggles between being a good father and family man with his dream of winning the gold medal.Team Canada is a target. “Everyone in the competitive world of elite sledge hockey is out to get us,” Herve says. A bald-headed man with arms the size of most men’s legs, Herve has battled the world’s best players for almost 15 years and has the scars to prove it.He is struggling with his own life issues as well. Twenty years ago Herve killed a brilliant young doctor and his wife in a drunk driving accident. He still breaks down when he recalls the crash in which he lost his leg. “You have to go on and live your life. I’m trying to do good things to atone for the bad I committed,” he says (with tears staining his cheeks). “It’s not easy sometimes, but you have to go on.”“This year, Norway and the U.S. want to show that our gold medal win at the Paralympics in Turino was a fluke. They want to take away our #1 spot in the world, but they won’t do it without a fight,” Herve says. “I’ve been stabbed, cut and smashed into the boards, so I’m up for a good fight,” he says. As the season unfolds, men will break down and friendships will be tested. It all culminates with the two best teams coming face-to-face in a violent, suspense-filled game where history is written in the final seconds.This is a story in the classic sense of storytelling: a quest - the World Championships - with fierce rivalries battling it out both on and off the ice. It’s also the story about men like Paul, Greg and the others who live their life as disabled men and all the baggage that entails - the stares, the prejudice, the struggles to do things that able-bodied people take for granted.It is a story of a remarkable team of athletes and even more remarkable men.