Wheels are spinning in the Calgary community of Sunalta as bike charity Two Wheel View sets its course for the release of a documentary focused on the charity.
Despite a smooth production in 2019, the documentary experienced post-production delays because of COVID-19.
This, unfortunately, resulted in some parts of the filming being cut.
Most notably, a section involving Two Wheel View’s work with the Morley Indigenous community was unable to safely film amidst the pandemic.
While the cuts were hard to make, the documentary’s original purpose will still be made clear. It will highlight the importance of the charity and the history of its creation.
Two Wheel View is a Sunalta-based charity that provides a safe space for youth to gather while they work on bikes. Fixing them and learning how to repair them while also going on trips and spending time with each other.
Impact of the film
The documentary is getting a full release at a time where Two Wheel View has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the perfect time to spread community awareness about their cause. As well as brighten people’s days.
Laura Istead, executive director of Two Wheel View, said that the documentary will grant some exposure to help the charity continue its essential work. It’s a chance to show the city that Two Wheel View is about more than bicycles.
“This documentary is going to help us tell our story. It’s a real opportunity to look inside at what we are doing. We are an organization that is about bicycles, but this will show everything we work for is about so much more than bicycles,” Istead said.
Switched plans because of pandemic
While reception is impossible to gauge, at this point, Istead hopes that this documentary will help draw investment and donations. This is despite the delayed release and the forced scaling back of plans because of the pandemic.
While they had visions of a red-carpet premier, Istead said this opened them up to a whole new audience.
“But doing it virtually opened up some opportunities to be connected with a lot more people, people who have maybe been outside the Two Wheel community for a long time,” Istead said.
“We hope the virtual nature means more people will attend. They’ll see the film and think of someone in their life who will benefit from this program and connect people with us.”
Production
Locke Vincent, the director, and producer of the Two Wheel View documentary said this was a great opportunity for him to hone his craft. It also allowed him to appreciate the charity more clearly. After spending so much time with the group throughout production, he said that there was more to Two Wheel View than just bikes.
“I describe Two Wheel View as an iceberg. At least compared to my idea of what Two Wheel View was and what they did. I thought they helped kids fixed bikes. But when I started filming, the iceberg just kept on revealing itself,” Vincent said.
“I thought it was going to be a feel-good story about people working on bikes. But it turned out to be a group of individuals bringing their community together.”
Looking back
Reflecting on their work Istead said that the documentary was a chance to appreciate all the work that Two Wheel View has done.
“The documentary gave us some time to reflect on the stories that had happened over time and stories we don’t know the outcomes of yet. Of young people who are still with us or going out into the world,” Istead said.
“This documentary is 35 minutes long and, it’s 35 minutes of amazing work done over 20 years from our founder to Two Wheel View today.”
Vincent’s vision and work was funded by grants from the Telus Storyhive, which is an arm of Telus that provides filmmakers with the funds to create content. The documentary is set to reveal Two Wheel View to the public on June 10.
