Media company Holmlands is presenting its latest film, featuring 10 Revelstoke residents, at the Performing Arts Centre this Friday, January 24.
The Revelstoke Diaries, formatted as a collection of short human interest stories told by members of the local community, is a behind-the-scenes look at life in the ski town.
While films normally made by companies like Holmlands would highlight the sport or nature in the area more, Holmlands founder and the film’s director and producer Cameron Hall says they really wanted to focus on the people and their lives in the community.
Maggie ‘May’ Davis
Preview: Revelstoke singer-songwriter Maggie Davis will be performing an opening set at the Revelstoke Diaries premiere on Friday, Jan. 24. We met up with Maggie for an update, to talk about her album, Denim Blues, and to hear a performance of The Perfect Storm, which she wrote several years ago, but has only performed once. Listen here:
Hall says they were met with such support from the community that they decided to air the film ahead of schedule and host the world premiere in Revelstoke as a kind of thank you to the community.
“It felt very wrong to take it back to the UK and release it,” he says. “Something didn’t feel right about that with all of the positivity that had come from everybody here.”
“It’s been overwhelming how welcoming people have been for us and how willing they’ve been in sharing their stories with us as well and trusting us to tell their stories and put it together into this piece.”
The film dives into the unique nature of a town transformed by the development of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort. As locals both new and more settled will know, the resort has made a major impact on the community, transforming a town whose economy was based largely on the railway into an international ski mecca. The film focuses on the people who make up the town today.
The creators of the film have profiled a railroad engineer, professional adventurers, environmental activists, musicians, an artist, a retiree, a police officer, a night groomer, and more.
For Revelstoke-based filmer viewers, the faces in The Revelstoke Diaries, a cross-section of residents here, will likely be familiar ones. The film features Chris Pawlitsky, Greg Hill, Izzy Lynch, Bill Pollock, Kelsey Adam, Mark Baron, Shred Kelly, Leah Allison, Faron Ling, and Kristy Whale.
“We’ve approached it with a lot of love from our side and trying to be caring about the things people have shared with us,” Hall said.
“Hopefully, people feel proud of everybody who’s part of the project and they feel that it’s something they’ll be happy to watch and share with friends and family and showcase the town in a positive light that’s reflective of lots of different people from within the community.”
The premiere will feature not only The Revelstoke Diaries premiere screening, but also live music by Maggie May Music, and the presentation of a second film (the very first short film by the company): Holmlands Stories: Ski the World. Tickets are still available here.
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