New WWI feature film showcases Indigenous soldier and Ontario locations
A First World War film made over the fields and skies of southwestern Ontario has its premiere this week.
‘The Ace and The Scout’ will be shown at the Imperial Theatre in Sarnia on Friday with two show times — 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Afterwards, the film moves to 15 other theatres in our region, including the Wolfe Performance Hall in London on Remembrance Day.
‘The Ace and The Scout’ tells the story of two young men who sign up to fight late in the Great War after hearing a recruitment speech by famed Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop.
As the film progresses, the ties between Bishop and another lesser-known Canadian military legend are explored.
Francis Pegahmagabow, an Anishinaabe volunteer sharpshooter, is credited with 378 successful enemy engagements — that is more than five times the 72 aerial victories Bishop recorded.
Canadian War Hero and later a First Nations advocate, Francis Pegahmagabow, is seen in this image taken at the end of the First World War. (Source: Wikipedia)
“It was almost larger than life. It was kind of unbelievable that his story had not been told to a broad audience,” said Aaron Huggett, the film's director.
He hopes ‘The Ace and The Scout’ will change the narrative.
Filmed over 17 days during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film features European and southwestern Ontario locations.
Ground warfare screens were captured in Lambton County where Huggett and his team recreated front-line trenches.
“We realized we could build a set and film here. We did just outside of Oil Springs,” he told CTV News.
Other locations include Kent Bridge, Petrolia and the town with a period train station that beat out dozens of others in an online search.
(Source: Handout)
“When we saw the St. Marys train station we knew that was the place for the scene,” said Huggett.
Not to be left out, the film features aerial combat using authentic First World War planes.
Huggett had begun to look at Europe to find the planes. But then he heard about the Great War Flying Museum between Guelph and Brampton.
“We’re able to work with them to film a dogfight scene where Billy Bishop flies an S.E.5. and fights a Fokker, and we actually had an opportunity to film that outside the Guelph area.”
‘The Ace and the Scout’ was screened at two film festivals this past weekend in London, England and California. The picture won several honours, including Best Director for Huggett.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.
Woman, 18, killed by co-worker's vehicle on Highway 1 in Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw police say an 18-year-old woman who was at work has died from injuries she sustained in a collision with a vehicle being driven by her co-worker last Thursday.