Yukon film 'Underdog' reaches wider audience online

Two Yukon filmmakers are happy their work is reaching a new audience.

Vivian Belik and Naomi Mark's short film Underdog was featured on CBC's Short Docs site, and now it's also featured on the popular "Short of the Week" website — a curated site featuring films from around the world.

Underdog follows Yukon dog musher Yuka Honda for several months as she prepares for and completes the famous Yukon Quest sled dog race.

"I think particularly, our character is a really unique woman. She is Japanese, she lives alone, she's in her 40s and lives in a tiny cabin without running water or electricity, with 30 dogs," Belik said.

Co-director Naomi Mark says the film is very personal — the filmmakers ended up following Honda through her grief as her mother died of cancer. One of the mother's last wishes was for her daughter to finish the Yukon Quest.

"I think that the story of Yuka's commitment to her mother to finish the Quest is really what resonates with people. It's a very emotional story," Mark said.

"The dogs are also a great appeal for people to be watching it." 

The 10 minute documentary can be seen here.