 MOVIE SYNOPSIS
“Paratroopers – The Canadian Story” is a full-length documentary movie currently in pre-production. The completed movie shall attempt to tell the definitive story and history of Canadian Paratroopers through movie footage, photographs and detailed interviews of veterans . The full-length documentary movie brings the viewer up through the various stages of paratrooper participation in Canada’s Military from the creation of Paratroopers in Canada to the first drop into Normandy on D-Day to Canada’s participation in Cyprus to the present day. The movie will endeavor to be a definitive history of Canadian Paratroopers and will feature the 65th anniversary memorial ceremony at the Airborne Monument, Siffleur Falls Staging Area, in Alberta on June 5 and 6, 2009. The movie will be shot on High Definition video in a number of locations across Canada, and other locations to be announced.
 SCOPE
Currently, Canada’s veteran military population is decreasing rapidly. Obviously, the WWII veterans are the most fragile group but our Korean veterans and, indeed, those veterans of the post-war generation are also passing in alarming numbers. Clearly, it will not be long before the majority of our senior veterans are home bound, or will have become members of the “last post” club. There is a need, therefore, within the present generation of airborne veterans to create a legacy which not only honours the service of those who went before us, but equally will preserve the memory of this service in some historical form. What better way to preserve this history than through the medium of an audiovisual presentation that captures the history and tells the story in an enduring manner on a DVD format, with accompanying bonus segments and a community video website on the internet.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS
We are raising the monies needed to finance the movie production. These monies will empower us to launch the community website, to do the research, to establish the designs and graphics, to develop the treatment for the movie and to film interview segments. We begun production of the treatment and basic marketing assets have been created. Shooting research interviews began in December of 2008 and the production team plans to complete the movie in June of 2010.  Sponsors will have the opportunity of being remembered by being named in the final credits of the movie and will be honoured on the website. The participation of sponsors is very much needed to help us to tell this essential story of Canadian military history. Sponsorship participation is available from $1000 to $50,000.
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS
A commemorative painting has been commissioned by one of the world's foremost military painters, Robert Bailey and has been signed by members of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1CanPara Bn). Various prints will be gifted to sponsors according to their participation level. The original painting will be given to one sponsor or gifted to the museum of their choice. Premium Remarque versions will feature an added hand penciled drawing by the artist and will be made available for a very select group.
MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS
The movie is being promoted online through the Paratroopers.ca video web community. Paratroopers.ca shall attempt to create a portal where persons from around the world can join and be the first to watch trailers and accompanying videos. Users will also be able to post comments and for the first time in any military production, provide valuable suggestions and input regarding the final movie. Other promotional avenues include media releases, interviews, promotions to mainstream media and advertising.
 PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH
The basic tenets of our philosophical approach to making this movie are as follows:
Integrity
Accuracy
Respect
Our aim is to produce this movie using the best of our abilities to maintain a level of decorum and concern both for the accuracy of our reporting, as well as for the manner in which Canadian Paratroopers are appropriately, and positively portrayed.
The movie is set to educate and inspire and although accurate reporting of events must be attended to, doesn’t see any value in reporting any matters of record or history involving our military in a negative light at all. We aim to preserve the integrity of our serving forces, our brave fallen soldiers and our valued veterans for generations to come.
DISTRIBUTION
The movie will seek opportunities for a TV broadcast window and be released on DVD. The distribution plan will be based and built from the following model: - Television Broadcast
- Documentary Distributors
- Direct sales to 1CanPara Bn veterans and widows
- Direct sales to Canadian Airborne Brotherhood
- Direct sales to clubs and associations
- Direct sales through military outlets
- Direct sales to libraries, museums and educational outlets
- Direct sales through retail store and online outlets
To learn how you can help us to make history and honour our Paratroopers, please call the Producer Dixon Christie directly via our Contact Form on the left navigation menu. Feel free to distribute this information and thank you for your interest in this project.
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