Westmount, QC – 10 March 2015: 09 April is “Vimy Ridge Day” in Canada, and 2015 marks the 98th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge.
The RMR Foundation and Canada Company are hosting a movie night on Thursday 09 April 2015 at Cineplex Odeon Forum (Ste-Catherine/Atwater). The aim of the event is to promote awareness of the battle of Vimy Ridge and educate Canadians as to its significance, and to support our framework for partnership with the Vimy Foundation‘s project for building a state of the art Education Centre to be unveiled in France on April 9, 2017 on the grounds adjacent to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial,
The movie to be shown is the National Film Board’s “The Battle of Vimy Ridge”, a film by John Bradshaw, narrated by Paul Gross and mixing archival footage with intensely realistic reenactments and the poignant letters of soldiers, The Battle of Vimy Ridge dramatically reveals how innovative tactics combined with iron courage and heroic self-sacrifice to enable Canadian soldiers to transform a field of slaughter into a field of glory. Run time of the movie is 95 minutes.
- Regular tickets cost $20.00 each, veterans pay $10 each, serving soldiers in uniform get in for free.
- Doors open at 18h30, movie starts at 19h15 sharp – run time is 95 minutes.
- Historical display of artifacts, uniforms, and equipment will be available for view prior to the showing.
- Information about the Grande Soirée Fondation Vimy 2015 will be available on site.
- Concession stand will be open for snacks.
- Parking is available inside the Forum or Alexis Nihon.
- Cineplex Odeon Forum is accessible by Metro Atwater (Green line).
Buy tickets here.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first instance during the First World War when all four Canadian divisions fought as a unified formation. The significance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge was not immediately recognized, but has certainly increased with time. Today, Canadians embrace the battle as a defining moment of our national identity.
The RMR was part of the first wave of attackers and secured their objectives on time: “The Royal Montrealers advance moved like clockwork”, according to Ted Barris’s book Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, albeit at the cost of 274 casualties to the Regiment. The RMR was but one of the many regiments from all across Canada that fought in the battle, the first time that Canadians fought together as one Corps, and their story is typical of all Canadians who fought there.