The Happy Camper: Three Great Films You Might Have Missed in 2025
What does one high fevered, medicated, illusionary flu victim watch while stuck in bed for four solid days between Christmas and New Years? Yep, while shivering in the sheets, popping Tylenol Cold tablets and hacking up my lungs, I turned to what Canadian musician Neil Young did when he was down and out with the flu as well. I did something productive rather than be miserable though it all. Young wrote some pure classic tracks for the Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere album (“Cinnamon Girl,” “Down by The River,” “Cowgirl in the Sand”). I simply rewatched a few of my favourite outdoorsy films of 2025. It’s definitely not equivalent but it was a good catalyst for this sick and bedridden outdoorsy guy to keep me from going bonkers.
Full Circle – 10 Days Circumnavigating Killarney Provincial Park
I’ve always cherished film maker Daryl Phillips videography and soft-spoken narrative, as well as Scott Jordan’s music collab. It blends perfectly. In 2025, they launched a tour of their new film FULL CIRCLE – 10 Days Circumnavigating Killarney Provincial Park, and I was honoured to be asked to be the MC during their tour launching the film.
They jam-packed small town theatres and churches—as they should. It was a pure joy to introduce a film about their journey deep into the breathtaking lakes and backcountry of Killarney Provincial Park’s La Cloche Mountains, perched along the north shore of Georgian Bay. With its clear blue lakes, striking white quartzite and pink granite hills, Killarney Provincial Park offers some of Ontario’s most unforgettable canoeing and hiking adventures.
The crowd loved it, and so did I; and now you can watch it on Daryl’s YouTube Channel Cedarhaus Films.
New Headwaters Down Film with Tidal River, James River (Part 2)
Watch the full film wit part 1 and 2 at headwatersdown.com
Two years ago, I interviewed a group of paddlers who called themselves Headwaters Down. They created an award-winning film on canoeing the full length of the James River, the longest river in Virginia. The route (250 miles) was from the headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Richmond—the hometown for the Crew: Dietrich Teschner, Will Gemma, Justin Black, Andrew Murray, Stephen Kuester. The documentary depicted how nature can endure, and how the most profound answers for humanity can be answered in your own backyard.
At the end of the interview the group made mention that their journey wasn’t complete. The James River doesn’t end in Richmond. It flows all the way to the Chesapeake Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. So, the crew felt an obligation to finish what they started and keep going to the final finish line.
Tidal River (part 2) has some similarities to the first film. The crew is the same, the soft voiceover is still amazingly poetic (Will Gemma), the original music backdrop is refreshing and spot on (Justin Black) and the trip itself shows humanity’s capacity for change and the river’s ability to become healthier.
But Tidal River goes well beyond the first film. The crew has aged, the story line has matured, the camera equipment is more advanced and the cinematography (Dietrich Teschner) is more polished. They also choose kayaks over canoes. It was a good choice. This stretch, as the James flushes out into the expanse of Chesapeake Bay, shifted quickly from freshwater to saltwater, and the tides became more problematic than the rapids they once dealt with upstream.
They also made the first film in less than six months; part 2 took them two years. They were able to better-tune Tidal River by raising money to help the crew create something they first envisioned. Fortunately, they received a generous grant from the Cabell Foundation.
The bigger change with the latest Headwaters Down documentary is that it dwells deeper into the history of the river—and it’s the future. The James River is one of the most vital waterways in the country, and it’s also been one of the most polluted. It’s been a place of environmental disaster and recovery.
The Headwaters Down journey(s) along the upper, middle and now lower James River sends a powerful message. It gives paddlers inspiration to explore the natural sections of the river, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to its Cyprus Swamps. But it also shows the river in a new light. The most polluted river in the country has come a long way and in the right direction.
Check out my full Whisky Fireside Chat with two of the members: Will Gemma and Justin Black.
Survival of the Wooden Canoe
Good friend and past old neighbour of mine Ted Moores recently had a film launch of his life building canoes. His wife Joan was the motivator, and another good friend of mine, Matt Snell, was the artist and voiceover behind it all. It won the Best Canoeing Film award in Rapid Media’s Film Festival 2025. Make sure you give it a watch. It’s well deserved.
I doubt anyone in the design and building of modern wood strip canoes has had more influence than Ted Moores of Bear Mountain Boats. His book CanoeCraft is one of the foundations of modern strip-built boats. Ted is retired now but his footprint made in the sand remains intact.
For Ted, it wasn’t just about building beautiful boats. It was a full commitment given towards maintaining and safeguarding the continued progress of the craft and to empower others to do so. Ted Moores represents a requisite role in the resurgence of wooden canoe building.
