September 26, 2015 2:00 pm | September 27, 2015 2:00 pm
This article is 8 years old, and might be out of date.
Eleven short films made locally by the members of the Brandon Industry Group, a collective of area creative workers, were produced for MTS TV’s “Stories From Home” and will light up the screen starting at 2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
These mini-documentaries exhibit unique personalities living in the Westman region — from a hula hooper to a yogi from India, from race car drivers to magicians, from a master doll maker to a veteran home brewer and more.
This is a special presentation in conjunction with Culture Days. Admission is free; donations will be gratefully accepted.
The Documentaries
Saturday
Matt Bootsman is an avid race car driver in the Pascar (Prairie Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) class. We’ll follow him as he prepares for and then competes in the first race of the season at the dirt track in Souris.
Delvina has been organizing weekly powwows at New Era School for more than a decade. Over the past 12 years the event has been a gathering place in the community, helping to keep the vibrant traditions and teachings of indigenous culture alive and shared with others.
Marilyn Hardy is an emergency room nurse at BRHC who sidelines as a puppet maker. Her extraordinary foam and glue creations have been featured in several local musical and theatre productions. A multi-talented artist, she also creates extremely elaborate Halloween costumes.
Marc Vorspel is a third generation typesetter from the Netherlands. Born in 1944, he decided to leave the family business, never to work in printing again. He moved to Canada and found himself falling in love with a large press. He ended up back in the biz, working for 30 years at the Brandon Sun in the composing room. Marc eventually left the Brandon Sun to open his own printing business to round out his career.
Diane has one of the largest collection of dolls in Manitoba. She makes and repairs custom dolls in the style of tradition Prairie dolls. She also has a unique collection of famous dolls from noted manufacturers.
Al Munz sure likes his suds! This 13-year home brewing veteran based in Oak River,MB., is proof that all you need to make a mouth-watering mug of beer is a little dedication and creativity – and a whole lot of patience.
Sunday
MTS Future First Doc Experience
Three 5-minute films from young film-makers—created in only 5 days!
Evolution Entertainers – Holden Lumbard and Brett Chrest – are young entertainers who started at a young age performing for crowds – now they’ve changed their focus and are avid magicians.
Sister Joan is the last surviving nun of the Brandon order of Nuns who have had quiet influence in our city for 100 years. She is also a uniquely talented a concert pianist, and she has toured and taught piano at Brandon University.
Karlheinz Sawatzky-Dyck, a modern-day Peter Pan, has made a living bringing his audiences across the province into his world of “pure imagination.” He enchants his audiences — the young and the young at heart — by taking them inside his quivering, shimmering, ephemeral creations.
Himanshu Purohit emigrated to Brandon from India, where he studied yoga for over 40 years. He gives back to the community he’s adopted by teaching meditation and holistic yoga at the YMCA, where he brings the lessons learned on the hot coasts of Gujarat to the residents of the snowy plains of southwestern Manitoba.
Christina “Crazy Hooper” Munchinsky has been hula hooping since the age of 5. Back in 2014, this crazy hooper showcased her hula hooping talents on the Ellen Degeneres show, winning the “Ellen, Here’s My Talent” contest. In front of a live studio audience, this crazy hooper hula hooped 70 hoops at one time! Christina has performed at many family events in and around Brandon and says her target audience ranges from 4 – 84 years of age.
