On Sunday, a local filmmaker will be hosting the Canadian Premier for his new documentary called Things Unseen.
Alex Reimer grew up here in Manitoba's Southeast but has spent the last seven years working as a missionary in Germany and Northern Ireland. He and his wife recently decided to move to Steinbach, but not before filming something special.
“As our time in Northern Ireland was ending, my wife and I bought a camper van and we put all our belongings in the camper van and we set off for a cross-European road trip, visiting different missionaries and being present in their lives, filming their everyday process and then put that in together into one whole cohesive piece.”
A trailer for the film can seen below.
Reimer says Things Unseen at its core is really a documentary about people who are living by faith and trusting God with the results.
“The documentary is 30 minutes long in the end and it follows the story of five different missionaries in three different countries. We go to Romania, we go to Bulgaria, and we go to Italy and it's basically an investigation into how these people are living out their callings. They're going to go and do it, they're going to be brave about it and put all their eggs in one basket in a way, and then leave the results up to God.”
Having lived in Europe as a missionary for years, Reimer says in some ways this documentary is like their last hurrah, the end of a chapter.
“It is definitely a gift back to the communities that we formed there. We really wanted to highlight the lives that we'd been living in a way, but also these people that were still in Europe just as a gift back to them.”
Reimer says filming Things Unseen was certainly an adventure.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I would not necessarily recommend driving around in a camper van in winter in Europe, but we learned as we went and there were only a few nights where we woke up seeing our breath.”
There were challenges but, ultimately, Reimer says it was a very rewarding experience.
“We really got a chance to be embedded in the story. It wasn't just an in and out thing, we were there for two weeks with each group and so we really got a chance to explore the different issues there.”
The Canadian Premier for Things Unseen will be held this coming weekend at the chapel that is shared by the Steinbach Bible College and Steinbach Christian School.
Reimer notes “It will be happening June 23 in the evening. That's this coming Sunday and the doors open at 7:30 p.m., we'll show it at 8, and we'll have a bit of a Q&A with me afterwards. Then it will be available online July 12.”
Everyone is invited to come by to enjoy the premier, and Reimer says the event is free.
Having moved back to Canada, Reimer says he has started his own production company called Quiet Acclaim Films and, going forward, he plans to build on that dream here in Steinbach as he and his wife figure out what God has for them here.