Kimberely French

Director Graeme Campbell

There are few symbolic obstacles embedded in humanity’s collective mythology so prevalent, so fiercely imperious as mountains, and fewer still have reached the infamous heights (ha ha) of Mt. Everest. This makes sense, considering that next to bodies of water, no natural formation has had as much influence on early human settlement —blocking trade routes, defining borders and manipulating wind currents as they do. They’ve been hardwired as one of the stolid, immortal bogeymen for our entire race (along with deep water, bears and large cats, of course). In a strangely masochistic way, it makes perfect sense that we would waste no opportunity to conquer them.

Everest, premiering on CBC this Sunday, is a miniseries that follows the first Canadians who climbed the famous Himalayan mountain. Shot primarily in the Rocky Mountains near Calgary and starring a 100 per cent Canadian cast, Everest is a showcase for Canadian talent as much as an adventure-drama. Though it stars Edmonton’s Eric Johnson and Vancouver’s Jason Priestley, Calgary theatre darlings Trevor Leigh and David Trimble also have small supporting roles. Produced by Randy Bradshaw (Agent of Influence, Bad Faith) and directed by Graeme Campbell (Degrassi: TNG, The Eleventh Hour), Everest is one of the many new dramas that represent a drastic increase in programming quality for Canadian networks.

“I think the sudden uptick in Canadian drama is related to the sudden uptick in American and European drama,” says Campbell. “I think that was a reaction to most of the viewing time being absorbed by reality shows. I think — I hope — we’re coming out of that now, so we’re able to get a few more eyeballs on this kind of good, dramatic programming.”

The fact that CBC dramas like Everest, Intelligence and The Border are even possible is a testament to our fast-maturing filmmaker’s culture. Though Telefilm Canada’s nationality casting restrictions might have placed stress on a project 30 to 40 years ago, there is now enough Canadian talent that — as Campbell has shown — an entire cast can be made up of Canadians with no detriment to the overall quality of the project.

“Early on, we tried to cast a British or an American [as British and American characters], but there was definitely a desire to exclusively cast Canadians,” says Campbell. “If you’re trying to get a major movie star, then Telefilm and CBC can be a bit restrictive, but that wasn't the case here. We’ve really developed a great filmmaking collective in this country.”

Using an amalgam of purchased footage from other Everest-themed projects and original footage shot in Alberta and British Columbia, Campbell’s show isn't short on the sweeping vistas and panoramas common to man-versus-nature dramas of every national origin. The first-ever film project to receive permission to shoot on the Columbia icefields in Jasper national park, Campbell believes that the transposition of Canadian locales is more than sufficient to reproduce the famous climb.

“We researched the entire climb up from Katmandu,” he says. “Maintaining that verisimilitude is important. Luckily, there’s quite a good bank of information about Everest, quite a good number of movies, so that wasn't a problem, even though we couldn't shoot there.

“I was interested in Everest because before this project, I had done the odd action picture, but nothing of this magnitude,” he adds. “And it was the magnitude and the heart of it that really appealed to me. It’s an adventure story, but it’s also a story about personal growth — I responded to it in a really emotional way. I'm always on the lookout for more Canadian stories and Canadian national mythology.”