The Final Holdout takes you inside the Raiders Jr A Lacrosse Club’s pursuit of the Minto Cup and a chance to make Canadian lacrosse history.

View the trailer here: The Final Holdout | Official Trailer

I’ve put months of work into capturing an inside look at the team’s 2026 season. Now, I need your support to cover filmmaking costs, finish the documentary, and bring their story to the screen.

I’m Claire Mikuska, a Calgary-based creator and filmmaker behind More Core Media. Through my years of work with the Raiders, I’ve come to know the people who make this organization what it is. That relationship gave me the opportunity to document a season as it unfolded, with access to the moments that fans don’t usually get to see.

The Final Holdout follows the players and coaches through practices, games, locker-room conversations, setbacks, and the pressure of competing for a national championship. Alongside their season, the film explores the history of lacrosse and its indigenous roots, Alberta’s place in the sport and the Minto Cups 125-year history, and the legacy of the people who helped build the Raiders.

The club’s history runs through the present-day team: in the families who have supported it, the people it has lost, and the players now carrying it forward. Those connections have become an essential part of the film.

My hope is to make a documentary that means something to the lacrosse community while also reaching people who have never watched a game. You don’t need to understand every rule to understand the fear of letting your teammates and supporters down, the weight of a final opportunity, or the feeling of belonging to something you care deeply about.

Filming is largely complete, and editing is underway. I’m producing, directing, filming, and editing the project, and I’ve personally invested money, equipment, and months of work into bringing it this far.

The arts grants I applied for did not come through. I’m now turning to the community to help cover the work already invested and the costs of completing and sharing the documentary.

My fundraising goal is $25,000 CAD. Contributions will help fund:

• Filmmaking and editing labour: compensation for my time producing, directing, filming, and editing the documentary.
• Production expenses: recovering a portion of the project-related equipment costs I have personally covered.
• Post-production: sound finishing, colour correction, captions, and preparing the film for screening.
• Licensing: securing the music and archival material used to help tell the story.
• Screenings and festival submissions: getting the completed film in front of audiences.
• Campaign costs: payment-processing fees and delivering supporter rewards.

This is a Keep-it-All campaign, so contributions will support the project even if I don’t reach the full goal. I’ll keep supporters informed about progress and how the amount raised affects the completion and release plans.

To thank you for helping me make the film possible, I’m offering several ways to be involved:

• $25 — Supporter: A digital film poster, plus campaign updates.
• $50 — Film Insider: Access to a private online viewing window of the completed film, plus a digital film poster and campaign updates.
• $100 — In the Credits: Your individual or family name in the film’s Community Supporters end credits, plus access to a private online viewing window of the completed film, a digital film poster, and campaign updates.
• $250 — Film VIP: Two tickets to a Calgary screening and a Community Supporters end credit, plus access to a private online viewing window of the completed film, a digital film poster, and campaign updates.
• $1,000 — Film Champion: Acknowledgment in the film’s Special Thanks section, four tickets to a Calgary screening, and a physical poster signed by me, plus access to a private online viewing window of the completed film, a digital film poster, and campaign updates.
• $5,000 — Executive Producer: Your name as Executive Producer in the opening credits and alongside the director’s credit in the end credits. Your Executive Producer credit will also be included in film festival submissions and retained in any future streaming release of the film. You’ll receive six tickets to a Calgary screening, a private conversation with me about making the film, and a physical poster signed by me, plus access to a private online viewing window of the completed film, a digital film poster, and campaign updates. Limited to three supporters.

Credit levels replace lower-level acknowledgments, and ticket quantities are the total included in each package. Screening and online viewing details will be shared as the release schedule is confirmed. Travel and accommodation are not included.

Your support gives me time to work carefully through the edit, secure the material the story needs, and prepare a film that can be shared beyond the people who were there.

Whether you’re a Raiders family, a former player, a lacrosse fan, or someone who believes in independent filmmaking, you can help give this story an audience.

If contributing financially isn’t possible, sharing the campaign with someone who might connect with it is another meaningful way to help.

The Final Holdout is also open to title sponsorship for an organization interested in supporting the documentary through “Presented by [Organization Name]” credits.

To discuss title sponsorship or a custom partnership, please reach out to me at claire@morecoremedia.com.

Thank you for helping bring The Final Holdout to the screen.

Claire