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Kamloops  

Kamloops family featured in touching film about pandemic

A message of hope

A moving video highlighting the good in humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic features a Kamloops family. 

The four-minute clip was put together by Muse Storytelling. Earlier this year, the Oregon-based company put a call-out on social media, asking filmmakers from around the world if they'd be interested in participating in the global project. 

Some 250 videographers responded, including the city's very own Alex O'Daly of Aspect Film Works

The Aussie was part of Team Canada, which also included filmmakers from Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. 

"It was like, 'What am I going to capture? What’s happening in Kamloops?' ... At that stage, we didn’t have the emergency services parade that was going to the hospital, there were a few people banging pots and pans, we had caution tape around the playground, and that sort of thing," explains O'Daly.

In the end, she settled on capturing what she calls "such a beautiful moment." O'Daly's niece, Mya Fisher, had just learned her ABCs and sang them to her grandpa Mark in a FaceTime call, with her parents Jessica and Derek nearby. All of them live in the Tournament Capital and have been teleconferencing regularly, like many others.

"It's just so heartwarming," O'Daly tells Castanet, noting she was pleasantly surprised to find out her footage had made the final cut. "It’s something that’s happening all over the world. ... They’re using FaceTime to stay connected during a time we’re all pretty isolated."

O'Daly adds filming was difficult; she ensured social distancing guidelines were followed and even used a long lens to shoot.

It was nice to dust off the camera gear and take part in something with such a wide reach, she says.

"To be able to come together with so many other people from all around the world who are experiencing this pandemic in so many different ways, it just made you feel like you were part of something so much bigger."

O'Daly says everyone needs to watch the video, which is narrated by Marshall Davis Jones, to the poem Lockdown by Richard Hendrick.

"It promotes that message that we can choose to be hopeful during this time," she says.

You can check out the film below. You can find the Fishers at the 2:05-minute mark. Grab a Kleenex. You'll likely need it. 



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