The 1972 Summit Series, the iconic hockey tournament that pitted the best players from Canada against the best from the Soviet Union, was a defining event in Canadian history. Award-winning filmmakers, Robbie Hart of Montreal’s Adobe Productions International, and Peter Raymont of White Pine Pictures in Toronto, teamed up to produce ICE-BREAKER – The ’72 Summit Series to commemorate this historic event.
The ground-breaking feature documentary, produced in association with Super Channel, launched with numerous theatrical screenings and film festivals across Canada over the past three months, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the ’72 Summit Series and is now set to make its English Canadian broadcast premiere on Tuesday, December 27th at 9 p.m. ET on Super Channel Fuse and will be available On Demand the same day. Super Channel is available via most cable providers across the country as well as streaming live and On Demand with Amazon Prime Video channels and Apple TV+.
The film is based in-part on former diplomat and author Gary J. Smith’s acclaimed, behind-the-scenes book, Ice War Diplomat: Hockey Meets Cold War Politics at the 1972 Summit Series.
View the trailer here
ICE BREAKER – The ’72 Summit Series explores the subject with passion and an impressive cast of participants who offer unique analysis and untold stories. Wayne Gretzky, Ron Maclean, Margaret Trudeau, Harnarayan Singh, Angela James, Daniele Sauvageau, and Terry Mosher (aka AISLIN), among others, bring their colourful, entertaining and highly engaging perspectives to the film.
An original concept by award-winning filmmaker Robbie Hart, ICE BREAKER is unlike anything ever done on the subject, uniting cinematic landscapes, poetic narratives, and behind the scenes politics, as well exclusive access to AISLIN’s Moscow drawings and the iconic images of photographer, Frank Lennon.
Director / Co-Producer Robbie Hart: “ICE-BREAKER reminds us of who we are and what we are capable of achieving when we come together as a nation. I wanted to share the legacy and lessons of the 1972 Summit Series and fully embrace its social and political relevance. I wanted to connect the story to a younger audience by reviving its magic and magnitude and help make this dramatic chapter of Canada’s sports and political history accessible to all.”
Adds producer/executive producer Peter Raymont, President White Pine Pictures: ”This is a film that will open the eyes of Canadians to the extraordinary events of September, 1972 when the country was brought together as never before by a unique series of hockey games. Sport can be an extraordinary catalyst for national unity and offers an important sense of belonging for new Canadians.”
Don McDonald, President and CEO, Super Channel: “The Summit Series of 1972 not only had a dramatic impact on the game of hockey but became a defining moment in Canadian culture. We are both proud and delighted to lend our support to this important film and to bring it to a national audience on Super Channel.”
The documentary gives a unique voice to Canadians who were directly involved or impacted by the Summit Series while telling the remarkable on ice battles of those eight iconic hockey games culminating on September 28, 1972 in Moscow, where Game Eight was played. It was watched by 150 million Russians and 16 million Canadians, the biggest audience in Canadian broadcast history. Schools and businesses closed, and the country came to a grinding halt to watch on TV or listen on radio.
In addition to filming across Canada, the film was also shot in Moscow, and features legendary Soviet hockey players Vladislav Tretiak, Alexander Yakushev and Boris Mikhailov, who bring to the screen fascinating, untold stories from their experiences in 1972 and the legacy that endures 50 years later. They express a genuine friendship with Canada and a common love for the game of hockey – a bond that illuminates our shared humanity and the power of sport to unify.
ICE-BREAKER is directed by Robbie Hart, produced by Peter Raymont, Robbie Hart and Stephen Paniccia, and executive produced by Peter Raymont, Robbie Hart and Steve Ord. Produced by Adobe Productions International and White Pine Pictures, the film is produced in association with Super Channel and Bell Media, and with the participation of the Canadian Media Fund, Canadian Heritage, SODEC, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit administered by SODEC, Ontario Creates, and La Banque National du Canada. ICE-BREAKER is distributed in Quebec by Filmoption International and in the rest of Canada by White Pine Pictures, with international sales handled by White Pine Pictures and Adobe Productions International.
