Courtesy of the film’s website, the story goes… Acrobats Guillaume Saladin and Yamoussa Bangoura met in Montreal’s acclaimed Cirque Eloize. They hail from distant parts of the globe – Guillaume from an Inuit village called Igloolik in the Canadian Arctic, Yamoussa from the Guinean city of Conakry. Yet they share a common dream, which is to revitalize their struggling communities through the power of performance. Both Igloolik and Conakry are reeling from a legacy of colonialism that has decimated their cultures and caused desperate social problems: Drugs, apathy and suicide in the Arctic; wretched poverty and massive unemployment in Guinea. Their response to the hardships was to found circuses – Guillaume created Artcirq, Yamoussa started Kalabante.

This is their story – told in an upcoming documentary titled Big Top Without Borders.

The film comes from Northern Lights Productions, with Susan Gray producing, and Linda Matchan directing.

Last year, the filmmakers successfully raised over $25,000 to pay for post-production services, and I assume the film will make its debut sometime next year.

The last update from the filmmaking team, posted on December 3rd on their Facebook page, reads:

As the weather gets colder, the Big Top team is nudging our film closer to the finish line. Editor Andy Kukura and director Susan Gray have been piecing together the stories of the African and Inuit circuses. The story that’s emerged is riveting, moving, and gorgeous. And after six years of following this circuitous tale, we finally have a rough cut! We’re excited to share our progress with you and we’ll let you know when the final credits roll – with your names next to ours.

So while we wait, in the meantime, check out a preview/promo for the film below: