Souris flood fight focus of Manitoban’s film project
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2015 (4003 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new documentary film will premiere Wednesday evening chronicling the battle by residents of Souris against record-breaking flooding in 2011, and the destruction of the famous Swinging Bridge.
“‘The Bridge’ is a compelling glimpse into a town rallying against a natural disaster of historic proportions,” says producer-director Glen Kirby, “told through the stories, photos and video of the people on the front lines. It’s a universal story of tragedy and triumph.”
Over three months in 2011, the Souris River reached levels that only occur every 200 to 500 years. Residents worked around the clock to build dikes and sandbag vulnerable properties, assisted by volunteers from across Manitoba and the Canadian Armed Forces.
The iconic Swinging Bridge was destroyed and the documentary features never-seen-before footage of the structure’s final minutes.
“That flood helped us to understand that, as we go forward as a community, we need one another,” says Sandra Denbow, a Souris town councillor and chamber of commerce president featured in “The Bridge.”
Kirby, a native of Souris and an award-winning television producer, was interested in telling the 2011 flood story because of his involvement in the town’s previous worst flood on record in 1976.
“I will never forget how we joined together, people from all different ages and backgrounds, side by side in the mud, filling sandbags and building dikes. Those feelings and experiences are represented in ‘The Bridge’.”
A premiere screening is planned at the Avalon Theatre in Souris at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The latest collaboration between Kirby Communications and MTS TV “Stories from Home,” “The Bridge” will also be available to MTS Ultimate TV customers across Manitoba.
Proceeds from DVDs and download sales at kirbycommunications.ca are going to a new scholarship award for students in Souris and neighbouring communities in the Southwest Horizon School Division.
“We’re very pleased to support Glen’s telling of this important Manitoba story,” MTS executive producer Cam Bennett said. “Recent flooding events elsewhere in Canada are an ongoing reminder of the power of the elements and the resiliency of the human spirit.”
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