A French munitions ship exploded in Halifax Harbour on Dec. 6, 1917, initiating a chain reaction of catastrophic events, which many say took the city 80 years to recover from. The shock wave from the explosion, followed by a tidal wave, bulldozed the north end of Halifax. Then a massive fire swept through what was left of the city, and later that day, the worst snowstorm in decades descended on Halifax, making rescue efforts almost impossible.

This is the story that will be told through Shattered City, the two-part miniseries coproduced by Halifax-based Salter Street Films and Toronto’s Tapestry Pictures for CBC. Director Bruce Pittman started shooting March 15 in Halifax and the production has generated tremendous response from local residents, many of whom share close personal ties to the tragedy.

‘We’ve captured the imagination of lots of Nova Scotians; the story is a part of the community,’ says executive producer and Salter principal Charles Bishop. ‘So many people in the community want to participate in the telling of the story. We’ve received all kinds of letters from people sharing family stories that have been passed down.’

It was in part the family tales of Tapestry producer Mary Young Leckie that inspired Salter to tackle a story, Bishop says, Halifax producers have always wanted to tell. When pitching Shattered City, Leckie shared stories passed on from her mother, who at six years old was one of the explosion’s survivors. ‘What that did,’ says Bishop, ‘was that for the first time we felt an infusion of passion for telling the story.’

In the course of researching the story, writer Keith Ross Leckie uncovered true stories of heroism and tragedy, which he translates into a dramatic story told through the eyes of a young soldier, played by Vincent Walsh, who has returned to Halifax from the trenches of WWI to celebrate an early Christmas. Other key cast includes Graham Greene and Pete Postlethwaite (Hemingway and Callaghan).

While the miniseries is historical, it touches on themes of startling relevance in the wake of recent international unrest and Canada’s relationship with the U.S. Although geographically distant, the consciousness of WWI runs throughout the story and Canada is portrayed as a senior statesman in an international war the U.S. had refused to enter.

Wrapping May 9, the miniseries will cost $10 million to make and is funded through Telefilm Canada, the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, CBC, the LFP and provincial tax credits. Powercorp will distribute Shattered City internationally.

‘Shattered City represents a significant amount of production revenue at Salter for the year; it is the single biggest project we will be doing,’ says Bishop. Other executive producers include Salter’s Michael Donovan and Tapestry’s Heather Goldin.

Although it has a relatively big budget for Canadian television, Keith Ross Leckie says the F/X-heavy project might have cost $30 million to make without today’s technological advances. In order to create the massive explosion, tidal wave, fire and snowstorm, Bishop says some of the top F/X artists in the country will be working on the project, led by visual F/X supervisor Tom Turnbull and much of the team that worked on the Salter sci-fi series LEXX.

Redstar goes to the opera

Halifax prodco Redstar Films has secured a broadcast licence from Bravo! for 13 half-hours of The Classical Now, a series which focuses on emerging Canadian classical musicians.

Informal interviews with series host William Fraser will surround intimate live performances from individual musicians. Filming is set for the summer in various Nova Scotia locations with DOP Findlay Muir. Paul Kimball directs and produces, with brother and head of Redstar James Kimball coproducing.

Shooting a dead cat in Charlottetown

Shooting wrapped March 18 in Prince Edward Island on Mrs. Ashboro’s Cat, a copro from Charlottetown-based Cellar Door Productions and Toronto’ Shaftesbury Films.

The family MOW is written by Heather Conkie (Road to Avonlea) and tells the story of a young girl who moves to a small town with her father where she meets the ghost of a cat who helps her solve a mystery.

Shot over 18 days in and around Charlottetown under the direction Don McBrearty, the film stars Michael Ontkean (Twin Peaks, Clara’s Heart) and Gemini nominee Ellen Page (Marion Bridge).

Gretha Rose and Christina Jennings produce the $2.8-million production, which will air in the U.S. on Animal Planet in the fall.

Nickel Fest call for entries

In St. John’s, NF, filmmaker and festival director Roger Maunder is preparing for the third Nickel Independent Film and Video Festival, which he conceived and directed for the first time in 2001 to provide a venue for local filmmakers to screen their work. The festival, running July 16-19 in St. John’s, is now calling for entries. Entry deadline is May 1 and forms are available at www.thenickel.homestead.com.

Maunder is also directing, writing and producing the short film The White Balloon. The story is told through the eyes of a young boy, played by Maunder’s three-year-old son Declan, who comes across a white balloon while walking with his father.

Using a mixture of 16mm and Super 8 to capture the different viewpoints of the boy and the balloon, the film goes to camera in early May with DOP Jamie Lewis and guest appearances by local personalities, including Mayor Andy Wells, who plays himself. The $14,000 short will be funded through the National Film Board’s Filmmaker Assistance Program, the City of St. John’s Arts Jury and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.