– Starring Barry Pepper and Annabella Piugattuk –

VANCOUVER, August 20, 2002 – The Snow Walker, which began filming July 21st in the rugged lands surrounding Churchill, Manitoba Canada, stars one of Hollywood’s most sought after young talents, Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan). The feature film will introduce the world to newcomer Annabella Piugattuk, an exotic beauty of raw talent who plays Pepper’s leading lady. “We are filming an intimate story about two people set on the world’s grandest stage, the sweeping lands of the arctic” says Producer Rob Merilees. “We have three main characters in this movie, played by Barry, Annabella, and the land – All three are delivering powerful performances.”

The Snow Walker drama of the arctic echoes The English Patient tale of the desert – It is a story of love, struggle, adventure, survival and discovery. “I’ve never played a character quite like Charlie Halliday. His journey in the film truly spans the entire spectrum of the human condition,” says Pepper. “Charlie has a selfish indifference about him, a confident swagger that he uses to mask his scars from the war. His dealings with the Inuit people are purely opportunistic. He uses them for trade and has no further interest in them or their culture.” Pepper continues, “When he finds himself forced to deal with one of them, Kanaalaq (Piugattuk) in an intimate human way, he destroys himself trying to reject her ways. Only when the land totally strips him naked to face her does he finally see the life blood of survival that she offers him. He sees the beauty in her culture through her eyes and he understands love for the first time, because of her. She pays the ultimate price to give him this gift of redemption and enlightenment.” Pepper gained critical attention in the Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning feature Saving Private Ryan. He was named "Breakout Performance of the Year" for his remarkable portrayal of 'Private Jackson' by Premiere Magazine and the Motion Picture Club. His starring role in the HBO feature "61*" earned him nominations for a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Critic Choice Award. Recently, Pepper was seen starring opposite Mel Gibson in We Were Soldiers and has two new films coming out soon: Knockaround Guys with John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper is due for release on October 18th, 2002; and Spike Lee's The 25th Hour, which Pepper just finished filming with Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is due out December 2002. “My life is very full right now, with my marriage, our child, tremendous film opportunities … Each day is a blessing, there is no other way to put it,” says Pepper. “I am so proud of this film and the people that I have worked alongside on it; I really believe that it was meant to be.”

Conversely, Annabella Piugattuk did not have any scheduling conflicts as she was “discovered” by casting director Jared Valentine in the tiny town of Igloolik. Valentine spent two weeks in The Nunavut territory in Canada’s Arctic looking for the just the right woman to play Kanaalaq. He auditioned over 100 Inuit women when he spotted Piugattuk: “I had been traveling from town to town, scouting every social gathering spot I could find when I reached Igloolik,” explains Valentine. “It’s daylight all the time which creates odd schedules and very few social gathering places for me to scout. I attended a teen dance one night when in walked Annabella.” The producers, Merilees and William Vince of Infinity International Entertainment flew six of the young women to Vancouver to screen test and Piugattuk won the role. “I was taken completely by surprise by all of this,” says Piugattuk in her soft, melodious voice that captivated the director. “I have wanted to act since I was young, but did not think an opportunity like this would come for me.” Vince says of his decision to cast her, “Annabella is as un-Hollywood as an actress could be, and Hollywood is going to love her.”

Writer/director Charles Martin Smith, after 20 years, makes his return to the picturesque Canadian arctic with The Snow Walker. This is the second time director Charles Martin Smith has worked on a Farley Mowat story – In 1983, Smith played the semi-autobiographical lead character ‘Tyler’ in the movie version of the author’s famous story, “Never Cry Wolf”. Charles Martin Smith has been a fixture in Hollywood for thirty years as a director, writer and actor having starred in such huge hits as American Graffiti and The Untouchables. He was also the directing force behind producer Vince’s successful Air Bud in 1997 and the pilot for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.

The Snow Walker is scheduled for release in late 2003.

*Article courtesy of Reel West