KAWARTHA LAKES- July 20, 1926, a group of boys set out in a canoe on Balsam Lake to get supplies. 11 of them didn’t survive.
Five years ago on this day, Kirkfield rolled out the red carpet for the world premiere screening of the movie Brotherhood depicting the events of that fateful day.
The movie is a true story based on the drowning of 10 young boys and a camp counsellor near Long Point on Balsam Lake July 20th 1923. The band of boys were headed to Coboconk for supplies when the weather changed suddenly and the canoe capsized. The boys’ struggle for survival.
The film has screened at 65 cinemas in Canada over the past five years.
“It feels really great because I feel like Brotherhood has been the little movie that could. Not that it is a little movie by any means but it definitely faced a lot of headwinds with COVID-19 when it first came out.” Director Richard Bell told Kawartha 411 News.
“When we set out to make the picture we always wanted to make something that was timeless and I always said to the crew we are making a “new classic”. So for me, it didn’t really matter if Brotherhood played everywhere when it first came out. It was something like It’s A Wonderful Life – something that you watch at Christmas time. Brotherhood is something you watch around the anniversary, on July 20th.”
The Kirkfield Historical Society is holding a screening of the film today at the museum at 7pm. This showing will commemorate the 98th anniversary of this tragic local story and will include new footage of a Re-Dedication Service that was held in Toronto in June.
Here is our original story on the world premiere held in Kirkfield.
