MAINPRIZE

The Documentary

The Documentary

1913: In a small town in the middle of theCanadian prairies, the youngest person ever to graduate from the University of Toronto’sMedical program experiences a tragedy during a medical emergency that shakes him to the core andputs a community’s future legacy in jeopardy. In a placewhere the smallest actions and quietest voices canmake the biggest difference, one man unites them to allto create a better tomorrow.

The documentary follows the life of Dr. William GrahamMainprize as he becomes the heart and soul of severalcommunities in South East Saskatchewan. With assistancefrom committed townspeople, the Doc carriesout miracles on a weekly basis. When an emergencyon an isolated farm arises, the whole community ralliestogether to ensure Doc’s safe and speedy passage.Wild and unpredictable weather, coupled with the ruggedand unforgiving landscape, force the doctor andhis partners to be resourceful in order toattend to his patients. Some say that the Doc and mechanically minded residents may have designed the first snowmobile ever made. They also created a “Mud mobile”, a monster car, long before anyone else, all in the name of serving the sick.

The Origin

July 1, 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Mainprize Park. Jack Hilkewich decided to take a camera to the anniversary celebrations happening at the new Mainprize Park. His goal was to capture the festivities, put them on a DVD and offer them for sale, at cost, just for something to do. Barry Rud of Firecube Video Services loaned him the video equipment. Due to the flooding that was happening in the area,most of the anniversary celebrations were either postponed or greatly reduced. With the help of Glenn Claybo, Jack shot a lot of video and conducted interviews with some of the locals, having them recall their memories of the original Doc’s Park.During these interviews, Jack realized much of the younger generationdid notknow the meaning behind the name “Mainprize” Park. This prompted Jack’s decision to make this a bigger project and turn it into a documentary.

The Making of

Blood, sweat and tears goes into the telling of any story. Here, we get to experience the behind the scenes of the creation of the Mainprize documentary through stills, video and production team accounts.

News
August 1, 2020

Mainprize documentary Facebook post

We were honored that the Newton family invited us out to film Jeff's Memorial at Hoodoo Creek in Alberta. This was where Jeff lost his life doing what he loved. This is a small...

July 7, 2020

Mainprize documentary Facebook post

Hi everyone. We shot an interview with Ken Turner yesterday and also shot some video and drone footage at the Halbrite Badlands. It was very sad to see what has happened out th...

January 24,2020

Mainprize documentary Facebook post

A big THANK YOU, to all the people out there who have supported The Mainprize Documentary Facebook page! We have reached 1,000 likes! Keep on following this page as there will ...