(Via WireService.ca) Banff World Media Festival is an almost painfully appropriate place to bring Enemy Aliens into the spotlight — the feature-length historical drama is set in a World War I-era internment camp not far from the Banff townsite.
A collaboration of Writer/Producer Ryan Boyko of Armistice Films, Producer Terry Mialkowsky of Prairie Threat Entertainment and Anthony Towstego of Thomega Entertainment, Enemy Aliens tells the story of two brothers, Ruslan and Vasil Kotelko. Their hope for a better life in Canada is shattered when they are designated enemy aliens under the War Measures Act and forced into internment. According to a media release, “Fear and hardship pushes them beyond their limits, and leads to a daring escape attempt that goes tragically wrong. One man makes the ultimate sacrifice to ensure his brother’s freedom.”
Their story is not unique — 8,579 so-called “enemy aliens”, mostly Ukrainians, were interned at the time, simply because of where they had been born. There were 24 internment camps established for them in Alberta, three of them in Banff National Park.
While Boyko was working on the script (which has been historically approved), he met Terry Mialkowsky, whose grandfather had been interned at Castle Mountain, undergoing “experiences that no one would ever believe.” Mialkowsky had always wanted to make a film about those experiences.
The team is seeking to secure an executive producer, pre-sales, and distribution for Enemy Aliens at the Festival. The project is receiving support from the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation and the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund.
You can read more on Facebook and at the Armistice Films site.
(Photo: Radtek 67)