The Top-Grossing Movie Shown at the Strand Theatre in Simcoe Over the Past 25 Years Does Not feature Tom Cruise Driving A Motorcycle off a cliff or Margot Robbie Bringing Barbie to the Big Screen.
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The Most Popular Film at Norfolk County’s Only Independent Cinema is a Documentary About Port Dover’s Fishing Industry made by a first moviemaker.
“Netting the Waters,” Direct by Daryl Granger, was supposed to scree Three Times at the Strand when it debated in October.
But tickets kept selling out, so the run kept getting extended, with more than 100 screenings to date and more on the schedule.
“Most movies are finished after 14 or 21 days, but ‘netting the waaters’ is still going strong, with more than 5,000 TICKETS SOLD,” Mark Rapley, Owner of the Strand, Told the spectator.
“In FEBRUARY, it Became the Strand’s Highest-Tiedeled FILM THIS CENTURY.”
The feature-length movie takes viewers on board port dover’s commercial fishing tugs as they go out in Search of Lake Erie Perch, Pickerel and Smelt, with Granger Capturing Footage from Below and High Above the Waves.
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Once World-Famous for Its Freshwater Fleet, Dover’s Fishing Industry was shuted to the Sidelines in Favour of Summer Tourism.
Granger Focuses His Lens On the People who Still Ply the Waters to Bring Fresh Ontario Fish to Local Dinner Plates and International Markets.
“Now they are in the Limelight, and that’s the way it should be,” Granger Said. “(Viewers) will have understood, wow, that’s a lot of work.”
The Filmmaker has gone to Nearly Every Screening at the Strand to Personally Introduce HIS LABOUR OF LOVE AND THANK Audiences for Coming.
“It’s the minimum i can do,” Granger Told the spectator. “Never in a million years Did I think this Would Happen. And the Community is very much behind it.”
Rapley Said Moviegoers Enjoy Seeing a Local Story on the Big Screen, AlongSide Fellow Audience and the Filmmaker Himself.
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“There is a feeling of Triumph in the Auditorium when the Lights Come Up,” He Said, Adding the Documentary’s Popularity has been a Financial Boon for the Theatre.
“Octuber and February in particular are tough months for cinemas, and being able to offer ‘Netting the Waters’ throughout the Winter has been a definite boost,” Rapley Said.
Granger has taken “Netting the Waters” On the Road to 15 Movie Theatres Across Ontario, Including Screenings in Toronto, Leamington, London, Sudbury, Kitchener and Hamilton’s Playhouse Cinema.
The Film has also been selected for a dozen movie festivals, Competing with Big-Budget Documentées, and Took Home Several Awards of Distinction, included “Best Educational Film” for December at the World Film Festival in Cannes.
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Granger Said He Applied to Enter Festivals in Los Angeles, Cannes and Mumbai “Just to see this Would Actually Stand Up as a Documentary, not just a local phenomenon.”
Closer to Home, He Takes Time Out from Shooting Creative Portraits at His Simcoe Business, Rosele Studio, To Give Public Talks about His Documentary and Dover’s Fishing Industry.
And he still gets out on the water. Granger Recently Released “First Catch ’25,” A 16-Minute Featurette Showing Two Fishing Tugs Slicing Through Lake Erie to Find the First Fish of the Season.
“I GOT HOOKED,” Said Granger, Who Revealed He has three More Film Ideas in the works.
While he appes the accolades and support, Granger Said His Main Goal is Having Fun While Telling Stories.
“I’m not moving to Hollywood,” He smiled.
“This is just one of those Things in your life that just works out.”
JP Antonacci is a local journalism initiative reporter based at the hamilton spectator. The Initiative is Funded by the Government of Canada.
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