So with a shower of crinkling leaves and the smell of pumpkin spiced lattes in the air – October is upon us. Our October Refresher was brought to us by Mike Latschislaw. People from all around know that Winnipeg is a cultural hub. A place where beauty is born, and yet so many of us Winnipeggers foster a huge hate-on for our city. Reading about cities and how to choose where you live based on it’s arts and culture scene, Mike was inspired by a simple quote “Winnipeg is home to 12 per cent of [Canada’s] musicians…even though it makes up just 2.25 per cent of the country’s population.” After reading this quote, an idea hatched in Mike’s mind: he would make a documentary about the music scene in Winnipeg.
Having never created a documentary before, Mike just started talking to people and recording their stories…and soon found that this city is positively crawling with talent. Focusing on the Roots scene (because it would take him another 5 years to include all other genres of music) Mike was overwhelmed with how many “magic moments” he witnessed and the candid, honest conversations he was privy to as he created this piece over the past year.
Today he finds himself with plenty of new friends and more footage than he knows what to do with quite yet. He will spend the next several months assembling all these stories into a video. In March, on opening night at the Park Theatre, the film will make its premiere, followed by a concert featuring all the artists in the documentary – this show will double as the final shot for the film.
Check out the first and second trailers for the documentary here:
If I Could Only Leave Here
If I Could Only Leave Here (second trailer)
