10 April 2015 – More than 150 people were in attendance last night as the RMR Foundation and Canada Company hosted a movie night at Cineplex Odeon Forum. The aim of the event was to promote awareness of the battle of Vimy Ridge and educate Canadians as to its significance.
Prior to the start of the movie, Christopher Sweeney, Chair of the Vimy Foundation spoke about the significance of the battle that took place 98-years ago and the impact it had on Canadian society, the war effort, and the way that Canadians view themselves.
The film shown was 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 combined with iron courage and heroic self-sacrifice to enable Canadian soldiers to transform a field of slaughter into a field of glory.
The NFB is engaged in the commemorations of both World Wars and is committed to raise awareness of the public on those major historical events which are shaping our national identity. On nfb.ca the public can find more than 150 films linked to the World Wars and other major conflicts. The NFB has a collection of more than 600 films on those topics.
A display of First World War equipment, pictures, and artifacts was set-up in the foyer for guests to visit before the movie. The Canadian Centre for the Great War provided the enlarged photographs of the advance towards the ridge, the RMR Museum provided the First World War equipment and artifacts, and the RMR Association (Br. 14) of the Legion provided uniformed volunteers to run the displays. The Vimy Foundation was also on hand to provide information about their project, sell Vimy pins & medals, and answer questions about their 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.