CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Elements of the play “17 Men” have made it to the silver screen, thanks to PB Productions.
A special Remembrance Day screening of “17 Men – The Documentary” is being featured on Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Rotary Arts Centre in Corner Brook.
The documentary, by filmmakers Peter Buckle and John McKinnon of PB Productions, is a behind the scenes look at the making of the play by Jeff Pitcher, about 17 Northern Peninsula men who served in the First World War.
It includes interviews with descendants of the men, footage of Cow Head’s annual Memorial Day services at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, wreath laying at the Cow Head War Memorial and footage of grave sites and hometowns of some of the men.
The documentary features interviews with Pitcher and residents Nora Shears, Adrian Payne, Luke Payne, Sandra and Frank Hewlin, Robert Chafe and various actors and artists who have worked on the play during the years.
The 80-minute “17 Men” play received its world premiere at the 2018 Gros Morne Theatre Festival and played throughout the 2019 season to rave reviews.
“It was very special creating the play through local research and now I’m just amazed and thrilled that PB Productions captured the whole process on film,” said Pitcher, who wrote and directed the play.
“It was an honour to work on such an important story. We were able to visit and film in the communities where these men came from and meet family members of these men,” Buckle said.
The documentary premiered at Memorial Day commemorations in Cow Head on July 1 this year and TNL is happy to have teamed up with the Rotary Arts Centre’s Monday Movies in Corner Brook for the Remembrance Day screening.
The film was made with the assistance of Parks Canada, Honour 100 and with the ongoing support to TNL from Canada Council for the Arts, ACOA, ArtsNL and the provincial department of Tourism Culture Innovation and Industry.
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