Episode 525: In The Seats With....Francois-Xavier De Ruydts and 'Subterranean' at Hot Docs

Sometimes to reach those new summits you've got to climb down....On this episode we are still cleaning up some fun stuff from the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival which just wrapped up in our fair city of Toronto but still has one more day of online streaming for those inclined.  The one we're talking about today is one of them, it's time for 'Subterranean'.Directed and shot by Francois-Xavier “Fix” De Ruydts – one of the few professional caving filmmakers and photographers in Canada — this film offers an extraordinary glimpse into the oddly fascinating world of cavers and uncovers a gripping story of adventure and (if they’re lucky) record-setting discovery.  Calgary-based Katie Graham is a financial analyst in pursuit of breaking the country's depth record at the Bisaro Anima cave in the Rockies. Despite her small stature, Katie's sense of humour, courage and tenacity help her team push past their physical limits as they crawl, climb and ultimately scuba dive kilometres underground towards their goal. Meanwhile, a passionate Vancouver Island team is attempting to link two tunnel systems to create the longest known cave in the country. Leading the crew is Franck Tuot, a French-born amateur caver who is struggling to balance a full-time job and young family with his passion for exploring British Columbia’s seemingly endless network of caves. Ultimately this film is an exploration of the human spirit and it's willingness to get muddy on occasion in order to accomplish something amazing.  We had the pleasure of sitting down with Francois-Xavier to discover the origins of why he wanted to tell this story and so very much more....