For the last several years director Robert Curtin and producer Karen Storwick have been working on a film to honour Canadian veterans, and that film is about to premiere.
“Fallen Heroes: Their Journey Home” follows stories of courage and sacrifice through interviews with Canadian veterans and their families to shine a light on Canada’s impact in Afghanistan.
Several scenes had been shot in Sturgeon County, with Highway 28 serving as a recreation for the Toronto 401, which famously carries fallen Canadian soldiers from CFB Trenton.
“We developed a partnership with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry foundation to help raise funds for the project, and that’s when we were actually able to write the script, write scripts, and development began at that point,” said Storwick. “I’d say, in earnest, we’ve been working on it for about seven years.”
Other local locations were used, such as Namao School being used as a crew staging point, and for other crowd scenes. There were also local volunteer actors joined by Sturgeon County firefighters and motorcycle police to join in the motorcade that recreates the Highway of Heroes.
“The movie is a labour of love, a long time in the making,” added Storwick. “We need to keep this history alive and continue to tell the story of the touching repatriation of each fallen soldier. No other country in the world was doing this, but soon others took notice and followed Canada’s lead.”
The show premieres at the St. Albert Landmark Cinema location on Wednesday and will be running from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The event begins with a meet and greet before the film begins at 6:30. Once the film is finished there will be a post movie discussion and an after party.
Although tickets for the show have sold out, people can still sponsor a soldier by visiting the event’s Eventbrite page.
