Based on UN Peacekeeping missions in Croatia, Calgary-made film Phoenix is receiving strong reactions from veterans
The film follows the journey of a Calgary soldier recovering from the psychological wounds of a UN peacekeeping mission in Croatia.
Bruce Callow, the Calgary musician, author and educator who created Phoenix, hopes his project can bring light to the approximately 2,600 Canadian veterans who are at risk or experiencing homelessness in Canada and the lifelong impact of working near the frontlines.
Phoenix is a 34-minute rock opera, which uses music and a storyline Callow made paired with Grok AI animation to touch on themes of grief, trauma, honour and reconciliation.
“The songs lent themselves, in the way I selected them and ordered them, tell the story in a way that I didn’t know if it was going to work. But it was an experiment, and happily, people are responding well to it,” he told LWC.
We always hear about which war is starting, but we don’t usually hear about what happens to these guys when they come home. Often 10, 20 or 30 years later, they’re still struggling in so many ways, so I wanted to draw attention to that.”
Though Callow did not work directly with veterans throughout the movie-making process, he tried to portray their lived experience as accurately as possible. Thus far, Callow has received positive feedback from organizations like the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping, Homes For Heroes and Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Association.
A statement shared by Callow from the Homes For Heroes Foundation said the film was a great rendition of what a soldier goes through from pre service to enrolling to every torturous step through military service.
“I can relate to every stage including fighting my demons and searching the cosmos for answers trying to make sense of it all. We spend what seems to be an eternity searching for ourselves while trying to integrate back into society,” the statement reads.
Phoenix looking for human creativity for future versions
Callow said knowing the impact the film is having on veterans is very reassuring.
“It’s been amazing to hear how the film evoked their personal memories and parallels. I got some really, really touching messages sharing how people related to the character in the film,” Callow said.
“When we got feedback during a test screening, we had a veteran who’s supported by Homes for Heroes who spoke at the event online. His appreciation and feedback, it was a really powerful moment.”
Without spoiling the film’s ending, Callow could confidently say that audiences will walk away feeling hopeful.
“There is a happy ending in this one. We didn’t end on the negative side and anyone who sees this film and takes the time to watch it will experience some of those hardships, and you start doubting and saying ‘Where is this going?’ but then at the end, there’s a feeling of hope and redemption, that people who have gone through all of these problems can come out fine,” he said.
Throughout the summer months, Callow is hoping to screen the film at film festivals and in Legions. Phoenix can be viewed here.
Callow, and his son Kenneth, are actively working on a second version of Phoenix. Though he understands the heavily debated use of AI, in this case, it worked well.
“My son and I made this film together as a homemade project and at this stage, we don’t have budgets or resources to employ full teams of animators. This film is a proof of concept that we’re really hoping will become a bigger project,” he said.
“There’s a debate about the use of AI. I share concerns regarding that, but I think that AI for this purpose, is a very effective and cost effective way for us.”
The next biggest step for the project is funding, independently and through grants, Callow said. For the finalized version of Phoenix, he hopes to connect further with veterans and veterans associations to share the experience of Canadian peacekeepers.
In the meantime, Callow is searching for editors, animators, directors, writers and anyone else who resonates with the film’s message and is interested in seeing it continue to grow.
“I’d like to extend an invitation to any filmmakers, students in film schools and so on in Calgary that would like to come on board with us on the more developed version of Phoenix that we’re working on,” he said.
“This is going to involve a lot of effort and work and creativity. We’ve got a lot of ideas. If anyone would like to get involved with the project, we welcome their input.”
