UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 13 SEPTEMBER 2016
A Canadian feature-length documentary film exploring ice hockey violence is to receive its European premiere in London later this month, featuring contributions from Birmingham City University criminologist Dr Victoria Silverwood.
Ice Guardians journeys into the lives of ‘enforcers’, who perform what is described as the toughest job within the National Hockey League (NHL) in the US and Canada.
Ice hockey is the only sport in the world which allows bare knuckle fighting, which takes place between enforcers, tasked with deterring and respond to violent play by the opposition.
Due to the sport’s vicious nature, it has drawn up heated debates and opinions from fans and critics alike, with fights in some leagues in Europe as well as the USA and Canada now being increasingly curbed by laws whilst the sport in the UK is slower to introduce sanctions for violent acts.
Dr Victoria Silverwood was spotted by the Ice Guardians filmmakers on Twitter and welcomed her to contribute to the production as an academic who is socially, psychologically and criminologically informed on the topic.
“There’s a lack of academic research on ice hockey and finding funding sources for research of this type can be difficult”, explains Dr Silverwood.
Dr Silverwood is the only female and UK contributor in the film.
The film features an impressive list of current and former NHL players including Scott Parker, Brett Hull and Dave Semenko, who were in attendance at the world premiere on Monday 12 September in Toronto.
Ice Guardians receives its European premiere at the Raindance Film Festival on Thursday 22 September at Vue Cinema in London, Piccadilly.