In 2021, over the course of eight months, a Québec-based team completed the first-ever north–south crossing of Canada, an unprecedented journey carried out using human power alone.

In 2024, the adventurers of the AKOR expeditions take on a new large-scale challenge: crossing the Canadian Far North, from the Yukon to the easternmost edge of the country on Baffin Island. A 7,000 km journey by bicycle, canoe, sailboat, and on foot. Nico, a key member of the team, chooses to take part in the entire adventure despite a new disability caused by a serious leg injury sustained a few years earlier. At the same time, twelve people living with chronic pain embark on a collective adventure and attempt, as a team, to cover the equivalent of the expedition’s 7,000 km, despite their own physical limitations.

Beyond Parallels honestly portrays the triumphs and hardships of a crew that set out on an ambitious expedition, often flirting with the absurd. The film also highlights the inner strength of two groups with very different realities, brought together by a shared goal: daring to measure themselves against something greater than themselves, for better or for worse.

The film will be screened on opening night of the Open Canoe Festival 2026, on Thursday, April 30, at 9:30 pm.