The makers of Silo, an American film about grain bin entrapment, don’t want people to watch the movie in their basement on Netflix.
Instead, they are using the old fashioned method — gathering people in the same location to watch the movie together.
Community groups in dozens of towns across the United States, in places like Carrington, North Dakota, and Little Falls, Minnesota, have been hosting screenings throughout the winter.
“Silo’s unique distribution strategy, the Silo Community Screening Campaign, breaks the trend of isolation in our modern world, bringing audiences together to experience stories side-by-side,” says silothefilm.com.
On March 18, Whitemouth, Man., will become the first small town in Canada to host a screening.
The Whitemouth School and a group of sponsors, including Farm Credit Canada, the Manitoba Canola Growers, Parrish & Heimbecker, G3, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Delmar Commodities and Leo’s Sales and Service, will show the movie at 7 p.m. in the Whitemouth School gymnasium.
FCC is supporting the movie through the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association. Every year it provides $50,000 to CASA to promote farm safety and for Agricultural Safety Week.
Silo is based on real life events, but it’s a fictional tale. It was filmed in Kentucky and released last year. It focuses on teenager Cody Rose, who becomes stuck in a grain bin and is entrapped in a pile of corn.
“Silo reflects back to rural communities and audiences outside of agriculture the emotional, physical and psychological costs of feeding the world,” says silothefilm.com.
“We consider every screening of Silo as an opportunity to entertain and educate audiences, while preventing future tragedies.”
The movie was shown this winter at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention. “It places equal emphasis on how rural communities come together when a neighbour is in need. That resonates very strongly with the Farm Bureau family, as does the film’s attention to mental health and rural resilience,” said John Hawkins, AFBF managing director of conventions and operations.
Information about hosting a screening can be found at www.silothefilm.com.
The cost of a screening is $2,500.
For more information about the Whitemouth event, contact Whitemouth School at 204-348-2595.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
