Cinetic Media has purchased the North American distribution rights for Wayne Wapeemukwa's film "Manhunt." The film will have its world premiere in the main competition at the Locarno Film Festival and will compete for the prestigious Golden Leopard award. "Manhunt" is Wapeemukwa's second feature film, following his 2017 work "Luk'Luk'I," which won the Best Canadian First Feature Award at the Toronto Film Festival.

Inspired by real murders that took place in Canada in 2019, "Manhunt" follows two young people as they embark on a journey along Canada's vast northern border to escape from their lives. The film addresses the conflict between the characters' digital fantasies and their real lives as they pass through empty towns and expansive forests. The screenplay includes the line, "As their lives unravel, they oscillate between digital fantasy and offline reality."

The film reframes real crimes as an allegory, questioning themes of loneliness, masculinity, and the dream of starting over. It is stated that, "Until the search for meaning turns to violence, the two kids discover they cannot escape what they have become while chasing salvation."

Featuring actors such as Harris Lowe, Landon Tunold, Bianca Foscht, and Dilara Foscht, "Manhunt" was written by Anna-Lena Theobald and Wapeemukwa. Last fall, Wapeemukwa gave a talk at UBC in Canada about Jonathan Glazer's film "The Zone of Interest." He noted that, "Nazis do not show humanity; they reveal how people can become Nazis," indicating that he adopts a similar approach in "Manhunt." While "Manhunt" is inspired by a real Canadian crime, he expressed that it aims to question how such a country comes into being rather than merely recreating events.