A big city filmmaker returned to his roots in Roblin, Manitoba, to make a documentary about one of Canada's oldest professions.

Sam Karney is the writer, director, and actor of the new documentary A Life on the Line, which premieres on Sunday, January 14. The documentary follows Karney to rural Manitoba as he learns how to trap with his father, Chuck.

"I'm essentially learning what it takes to be a trapper," Karney explains. "It kind of turned out to be a father-son story than a trapping story, but you never know what you got until you go through everything."

The idea came to Karney while working at a local television station, where he made short documentaries. He did one about trapping and it planted the idea in his head. After that, it took almost six years to get all the funding.

"[Trapping] is a centuries-old profession and it's an important part of Canadian history," Karney said.

The initial idea of the documentary was to go into the history of trapping and explain that importance. But as time went on, the story morphed into a father and son story about passing on knowledge.

"I never intended on having myself in it, but we thought it would be a neat hook," Karney said.

Often thought of as an Indigenous activity, Karney says that many trappers are actually European, like his father. Karney believes that makes the story kind of unique as well. His mother is Metis and the documentary also looks at those family roots.

The season Karney spent trapping included bitter cold and a number of interesting successes and failures. Despite that, he would go back.

"I would love to go out again, without the [television crew]," Karney laughed.

A Life on the Line was co-produced by Winnipeg-based Ice River Films and Wookey Films.