Tag Archives: Campbell River film

Get Reel: A young Campbell River filmmaker’s film about fly-fishing

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As he attempts to sleep at night, high school student Benji Bridle cannot help but review the images trapped in his head from a day spent on the river fly-fishing.

How the sun or rain hits the water, the silver slap of a struggling salmon, or the beauty of the sport itself, all play out in Bridle’s mind.

Recently, the aspiring cinematographer drew on his bank of nighttime imaginings as fodder for an award-winning film.

Bridle, 16, won for best screenplay at the 2020 Vancouver Island Youth Film Festival (VIYFF) in late February for his beautifully shot short film, Get Reel, which examines his pathway to — and newfound passion for — conservation through the sport of fly-fishing.

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Explore Next Door

Local tourism had really taken a big  hit when Mary Ruth Snyder, Executive Director of the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce and Dianne Hawkins, CEO of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce agreed to visit each other’s cities and film the event. The pair did not stop there. They launched a social media campaign encouraging people to explore neighbouring communities and leave a visual record of their visits on social media using hashtags like #ExploreNextDoor, #MeetYourNeighbours, and #ExploreBC.

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Behind The Documentary Fractured Land

The award-winning documentary “Fractured Land” follows the life of First Nations warrior and lawyer, Caleb Behn as he explores the impacts hydraulic fracturing is having on his community. It will soon be aired on the Knowledge Network. I had an opportunity to ask Campbell River filmmaker Damien Gillis, What’s behind the documentary Fractured Land?

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Inside One Of British Columbia’s Disappearing Old Growth Rainforests

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Most of us have seen historical photographs of the great forests that once stood in British Columbia. Though his family has worked in the forestry sector for a century, Damien Gillis’ first view of a forest like this came during a six-day-trek into the Incomappleux Valley. The award winning Campbell River documentary film maker (Fractured Land, Oil in Eden) says, “it was like nothing I’ve seen before, just the way the ecosystem is really a cycle of life, death and rebirth right before your eyes.” Some of the trees he saw had been saplings around the time of the Roman Empire. The resulting documentary, Primeval: Enter the Incomappleux offers viewers a rare glimpse inside one of BC’s disappearing old growth rainforests.

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