By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
If you “made the move” from Montreal or another major city to the Eastern Townships during the COVID-19 pandemic, a film crew is potentially interested in hearing your story.
As rural communities across the region continue to grow, a new documentary project entitled Back to the Land, produced by a woman-led crew, is exploring the motivations and stories behind the migration. Produced by Kimchi Productions and developed through the CBC Absolutely Canadian strand, the documentary explores the wave of Montrealers who left the city during and after the COVID-19 crisis to start anew in the countryside.
Producer and co-writer Rebecca Rowley has lived in Dunham for nearly 20 years and seen the town’s transformation firsthand. “I saw a lot of people move our way during the pandemic, and I thought it would be interesting to see whether those moves met their objective,” she told the BCN. “Even though there were horrendous difficulties during that time, for a lot of people there was a benefit…I see so many people who have made the move and who are very happy.”
She noted that the wave of migration to the area has apparently spurred long-term growth, with new primary schools opening in Farnham, Cowansville and Shefford and the student body at Massey-Vanier High School increasing by several hundred. “The countryside is definitely not for retired couples anymore!”
“We are excited to meet people who have moved and hear their stories,” she said. “Everyone can relate to a moment when they had to stop because life forced them to stop, and to think, ‘Am I aligned with my best life? Am I doing what resonates?’”
Rowley says she has spoken to several recent arrivals who “are loving having this slower life, working remote and enjoying being at home more and spending time with their kids, stepping out of the house and hearing lots of birds.”
However, for some, moving to the Townships has not been the solution they were hoping for, at least not yet. “In the case of a separation, you kind of idealize this family project, and it might not be enough to keep a family together. Not everyone likes to go talk to strangers, and some people feel their social life has gotten smaller… but I only know the people I know, and I’d like to know other people’s stories.”
Rowley and director Miranda Handford want to explore how where people live shapes their sense of identity and the pace of their lives. They also plan to make the film a “love letter to the Eastern Townships” where the area’s landscapes play a starring role.
Rowley hopes to secure funding for the film from a variety of sources over the next few months and begin filming next year. Rowley is inviting families who are interested in participating to fill out a form on the production company website, kimchiproductions.com. They are looking for a diverse range of stories, from families with children to new retirees and single telecommuters, homebuyers and renters, from a range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, living in the country and in larger towns like Bromont. Both anglophone and francophone families and those from other backgrounds are welcome to participate, although the current plan is to conduct interviews in English only – to facilitate distribution to English Canada and internationally, but also to encourage anglophone participation and reflect the area’s anglophone history. “We are fine with accents; you just need to be comfortable speaking English in front of a camera and having a film crew invade your home,” she said.
“We are aware that moving to rural areas [during the pandemic] was a global phenomenon, and [the film] would speak to people around the world about how the pandemic sent a lot of people on a wild goose chase” leading them to rethink many aspects of their lives, she said.
To learn more about the film or to fill out an expression-of-interest survey if you’d like to be interviewed, visit kimchiproductions.com.