The plot outline from the Facebook page: A Desert Between Us & Them: Raiders, Traitors & Refugees in the War of 1812 will tell the little-known story of the devastating effect the War of 1812 had upon the Upper Canadian peninsula (now Southwestern Ontario), with a focus on what life was like for people on the ground. Residents were faced with numerous American raids, constant pressure to change one’s allegiance, a shortage of food, thousands of refugees on the muddy roads, and the eventual abandonment of Southwestern Ontario by the British Army. Most civilians in Canada didn’t experience the war directly, but for people in this area, the war came to their homes – sometimes repeatedly.

This was an exciting project that brought many volunteers and re-enactors together (more than 300 people came out over 550 times) over 30 days of production filming. This was the story of how the war affected the residents of southern Ontario – their homes were burned, their food and livestock stolen – they became refugees!!

Watch for the launch of this new documentary this summer. For those of you who are educators, it will be a perfect movie to show during a school assembly and an essential part of the school’s media library. The documentary will be available from the Visual Heritage site.