PART OF THE PACK

Isabelle has written and co-directed the feature documentary, Part of the Pack. The film explores people’s complex relationship with wolves and the nature of our engagement to the wild today. Part of the Pack is available to watch on the Knowledge Network.

Feared and hated, wolves have been banned from the wilderness through systematic extermination on the west coast of North America. For decades, there were no wolves on Vancouver Island. When some animals that had persisted on British Columbia’s mainland swam across and attempted to recolonize the island, they were killed off, again and again. Only in the 1990s, did wolves begin to survive long enough to reclaim their old territories. 

During that time our fascination with wolves, as the quintessential symbol of wilderness has become stronger. As we increasingly become removed from nature and live in urban settings, we seek to get closer to the wild. A chance to catch a glimpse of a wolf in its natural habitat is the ultimate opportunity to reconnect to the forgotten, untouched wild. Wolves on the other hand are coming back to a landscape that is very much dominated by humans, leaving them with less space to live their lives. This means that people and wolves are now getting closer to each other and intermingling in unprecedented ways. Some people have taken their “call of the wild” a step further by raising wolf dogs and bringing wolf-like animals into their own homes.

Part of the Pack explores this new territory where wild meets domesticated. Through the individual journey of our characters, we follow the different ways in which we get closer to wolves and wolves get closer to us. Ultimately, the film invites viewers to rethink the nature of our engagement to the wild in today’s world.

Part of the Pack was nominated for five LEO Awards (feature length documentary, direction, screenwriting, cinematography and music) and won other awards, including the 2023 Arctic Film Festival Life on Land Award and the 2022 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival Best Documentary Award.

Read about the recent coverage of the film in the news:

– Documentary film follows three stories of wolves and human connection, Vancouver Sun (June 2023)

– Part of the Pack film review: Coexisting with wolves, Monday Magazine (June 2023)

– New Vancouver Island doc explores humans’ uneasy relationship with wolves, West Coast Now (June 2023)

– Le documentaire Part of the Pack: Entrevue avec Isabelle Groc, Radio Victoria (June 2023)

– Why some people in BC choose to live with wolves, CBC –  The Current with Matt Galloway (February 2023)

– Why some people in BC choose to live with wolves – even as advocates caution against it, CBC – The Current (February 2023)

– Film exploring complexity of wolf-human interactions airing at Victoria Film Fest, Vancouver Island Free Daily (February 2023)

– Best film at the Festival?, Toronto Film Critics Association (February 2023)

– Part of the Pack review: A matter of bark and bite, Point of View magazine (February 2023)

– Would you let a wolf sleep on your couch? CBC – Our Vancouver with Gloria Macarenko (January 2023)

– Isabelle Groc and Mike McKinlay on new documentary about wolves, CBC –  North by Northwest with Margaret Gallagher (January 2023)

– New BC documentary Part of the Pack looks at the impacts of human contact with wolves, Stir (January 2023)

– Can we befriend wolves? Should we?, The Tyee (January 2023)

– Entrevue avec Isabelle Groc: Le documentaire Part of the Pack au VIFF, Radio Canada Panorama (January 2023)

To schedule a screening in your community of Part of the Pack, please get in touch.