Just for fun, for the fans, we slapped together this quickie movie trailer for Life For Mile. Hope you guys like it!
Life For Mile is a Historic Drama/Western/Kung Fu/Mystery/Action/Comedy movie. It is based on the true-life story of the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) laborers who worked together in the construction of the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s.
Cultural content-wise, the movie is 50% Chinese and 50% First Nations. Western genre movies are often about cowboys or cowboys and Indians, but Life For Mile is different. This movie is about the true-life accounts of the Chinese and indians (First Nations) railroad workers who united together to go against their railway cowboy masters and ultimately restored some degree of dignities for themselves. Life For Mile is executive produced by Hollywood actor Stephen Chang. [Music by Kevin MacLeod.]
Locarno is formed by former Latin project Paperboys frontman Tom Landa. The music is part Mexican, Cuban Son, Folk Music, Salsa, Pop and Funk, creating a new genre in Latin music. Locarno’s music is influenced by Manu Chao, Ozomatli or Rodrigo and Gabriela, Tracy Chapman, The Smiths, Spirit of the West etc. On June 11, 2011, Locarno performed at the Olympic Village in Vancouver just outside in the plaza area of the Salt Building during the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Race which was held in South East False Creek (SEFC).
Squamish Chief Gibby Jacob & Eagle Song Dancers celebrated the Vancouver Fire & Rescue 125th Anniversary. Bob Baker and The Eagle Song Dancers did a traditional First Nations song and dance to mark the occasion. The event took place on June 12, 2011 in Gastown where Gassy Jack Deighton had the city’s first saloon. Mayor Gregor Robertson was there as well as it was also the 125 birthday for the City of Vancouver which was incorporated in 1886.
VIDEO – Chief Gibby Jacob & Eagle Song Dancers in Gastown
It’s 1889, the year that this Shand Mason Horse-Drawn Steam Fire Engine was made. More relevant, it is just four years earlier in 1885 that the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation was finished and soon after that, Vancouver was incorporated as a city.
These dates are important to the movie: Life For Mile. It is in the same period. And as I watched the steam fire engine at work as the pistons pumped up and down, I couldn’t help but let my imagination runs wild. I thought about the life of the Chinese railroad workers back then. They had no means of going back home as the Canadian government (and railroad company) conveniently forgot to pay their return boat fare that was promised when the Chinese were hired. Some of the Chinese died and were buried in Boston Bar, the city of Kamloops and other places along the Fraser Canyon where the transcontinental railroad was built. The infamous Head-Tax was legislated into laws that kept more Chinese from coming into Canada amidst waves after waves of anti-Chinese sentiments among a largely European population which went on for decades.
Life For Mile is a Historic Drama/Action/Kung Fu/Mystery/Romance/Comedy feature film based on true events about the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) laborers in the construction of the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s. It has been said that for every mile that the Canadian Pacific railroad was laid, one Chinese life had been sacrificed, hence the title of the movie) but it is rarely ever mentioned about the native Indian’s contribution. Those two compelling historical facts and unique Canadian heritage have also rarely been put in the entertainment media in the past until now.
Life For Mile is executive produced by Stephen Chang, a Kung Fu Grandmaster and Hollywood actor (VC Commander in First Blood ” Rambo “) and produced by Ray Van Eng with a script written by Ray Van Eng based on a treatment by Stephen Chang. Mr. Chang also acted in such movies as Double Happiness (1994 – 2 Genies), International Rescue (1990 Hit) Icarus (2010) and TV series such as The X-Files, Twilight Zone, Kung Fu – TLC (1996 Warner Bros.) Psych (2011), The Evidence (2006) and dozens of other productions. Mr. Chang has spent the last 35+ years in conceiving this movie after he met the real-life character, a Chinese railroad worker named Ming, in the early 1970s who told Chang the true-life story that is now being produced as a feature film planned for a world-wide theatrical release on the big screen.
On June 12, 2011, the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and Mayor Gregor Robertson celebrated 125th anniversary (1886-2011) and commemorated the Great Fire of 1886 that raged across the entire city just two months after its incorporation. Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob and Deputy Chief Nick Delmonico gave speeches amidst a First Nations song and dance and Chinese Lions Dance dedication. The event took place in Gastown where Gassy Jack Deighton had the city’s first saloon. A working 1889 model of Shand Mason Horse-Drawn Steam Fire Engine on loan from the Victoria Fire Department was brought out for service.
VIDEO – Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Celebrates 125th Anniversary
The West Moberly First Nations of northeastern BC is trying to stop a herd of wildlife known as the Burnt Pine Caribou from becoming extinct as mining and exploration activities threaten to disturb the habitat of these animals.
In September 2009, the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines approved a coal exploration permit to Vancouver-based First Coal Corporation. When West Moberly filed a complaint, the BC Supreme Court responded with a ruling that favored the First Nations. So far so good. Then the provincial government appealed that decision. On May 26, 2011, the BC Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision stating that the West Moberly’s right to hunt [under Treaty 8] necessarily included protection of the caribou as the wildlife is central to West Moberly’s traditional way of life. The Appeal Court also found that the BC government failed to adequately consult with the First Nations to accommodate their needs.
This is an unprecedented victory for the First Nations especially when it comes to exercising their Treaty Rights in the future. As with those who are sensitive to aboriginal rights and environmental issues and in particular the protection of endangered species, we are very happy to learn about the latest BC Court of Appeal decision.
It is not that the West Moberly First Nations is against mining. Chief Roland Willson indicated that he had helped launched many mining operations in the past but when he uttered words of complaint against the government, he was made out to be anti-mining and trying to stop economic development in his territory.
However, there are many issues involved with this dispute. One of the most important (and often side-stepped) is the significance of the cumulative effect of past industrial developments that has reduced the Burnt Pine caribou herd to just 11 members. Again, the latest Court of Appeal decision decidedly did not call for a more comprehensive plan to rehabilitate the caribous so their count could one day recover and increase to a more ideal number. The reasoning behind that is while the Chief Justice recognized the detrimental effect of the cumulative actions of industrial development over the years, the decision was not meant to redress the past but to focus more squarely on the current state of affairs and specifically the permit issued to First Coal Corporation and that the direct result of the exploration and future mining activities need to be better consulted with the West Moberly First Nations.
It should also be noted that the BC government currently has no specific laws that deal with endangered species in the province. Although the government does have a Provincial Conservation Framework that among other things, lists endangered species in priority categories so as to recommend actions to be taken proactively. Maybe this on-going dispute involving the West Moberly hunting rights and coal mining development would quicken the pace for proper endangered species and biodiversity legislation.
As we continue to develop our Life For Mile movie production, we find that this current West Moberly situation inspires us. We are thinking about writing a scene into our movie that depicts pass wrongdoings with no regard (or even downright disrespect) for wildlife which caused the caribou herd to decrease its numbers to the present day horrific level.
At the same time, we will continue to help West Moberly in any way which way we can in their fight to keep the caribou from becoming extinct. We are planning to shoot in the West Moberly region which should provide some spectacular scenery in the fall or early winter.
The rehabilitation of the caribou is not only significant to the traditional way of life for the First Nations, it is also part of our heritage as British Columbia used to have tens of thousands of caribous roaming freely in the upper two-thirds of our province. It would be very sad that one day we wake up and find that there won’t be a single caribou left because we have failed to take action to stop them from becoming extinct while we had the opportunity to do so.
West Moberly is represented by Christopher Devlin and Timothy Thielmann, of the Victoria-based law firm, Devlin Gailus.
