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The 'stuff of legend:' pandemic forces Dead North Film Festival to press pause

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Jay Bulckaert, left, and Pablo Saravanja, at the Dead North office in Yellowknife on Friday. Nick Pearce/ NNSL photo

Dead North announced Monday that it is pulling the plug on the film festival for the foreseeable future.

In a social media post, the organizers announced that although Covid restrictions was “no doubt going to negatively impact Dead North,” the decision to press pause on the festival had been on their minds for some time, “even before the pandemic” they said.  

“Organizing Dead North for nearly a decade now has been one of the greatest honours and privileges of our careers,” they said on Facebook and Instagram, admitting they’re unsure if this will mean Dead North goes away for one year, two, five, or more. 

They do say that the festival will be back and that it is not dead, “merely resting for a while,” as the organizers take a break, catch their breath and refocus their energy. 

“This festival changed so many lives for the better all across the North, and it certainly changed ours. We are deeply proud of our Dead North community. You are the stuff of legend, and we thank you all for coming out to play with us for the last eight years,” they said. 

This story will be updated.