Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip is unquestionably one of the most beloved music groups in the country, and upcoming documentary Long Time Running aims to capture that feeling.
The documentary, which has been officially selected to screen at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, zooms in on the band’s emotional journey across the country in the summer of 2016 and gets up close with lead singer Gord Downie and the rest of the band.
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“It was just a dream,” says Downie in the trailer. “It was the best I’ve ever felt on stage. I wanted the shows to go on forever.”
Aside from intimate interviews with the Hip, the documentary boasts testimonies from the band members’ close friends, behind-the-scenes and backstage footage and reactions from their die-hard fans throughout Canada.
Shots of audience members encapsulate the country’s love for the band and the poignancy of last summer’s tour.
In May 2016, Downie revealed he had been battling incurable brain cancer since December 2015. Shortly after, The Tragically Hip announced a 15-show Canada tour in celebration of their latest studio album, Man Machine Poem.
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Directed by Canadian documentary filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier (Watermark, Act of God) and produced by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn (Hip-Hop Evolution, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage), there is some serious Canuck pedigree here.
‘Long Time Running’ makes its world premiere at this year’s TIFF, and will open in theatres across the country beginning Sept. 14.
(You can watch the trailer, above.)