Film on Canadian World War I history will be released next year
By Pat Payton
A little Canadian World War I history was told Sunday morning at the VIA train station in St. Marys.
A crew from Electric Motion Pictures was filming ‘The Ace and the Scout,’ an independent production.
The Ace in the title is in reference to pilot Billy Bishop, who was Canada’s top flying ace of World War I, and was officially credited with 72 victories. The Scout refers to Francis Pegahmagabow, the highest decorated indigenous sniper in Canadian history. Pegahmagabow killed 378 Germany soldiers and captured over 300 more. He was the top sniper in World War 1 from all countries. The actor portraying Pegahmagabow is a family friend of his direct descendants.
Sunday was the only day ‘The Ace and the Scout’ was shot in St. Marys, the 13th day of filming. The crew was shooting in Petrolia on Saturday.
The 50-minute film will be released just ahead of the Remembrance period, 2021.
‘The Ace and the Scout’, meanwhile, will be entered in upcoming film festivals. Director Aaron Huggett has also produced and directed three other films based on Canadian history. Huggett directed another on the Black Donnellys of Lucan.
