Local News
Broncos documentary producer ready for emotional screening
A long journey to tell the story of the 1980s Swift Current Broncos takes another step for Shayne Putzlocher on Monday. The film producer has been working to get a movie made about the Broncos for over a decade. When a feature film didn't come together, his company Trilight Entertainment decided to start with a documentary called Sideways. It screens on Monday afternoon at InnovationPlex. "I don't know if excited is the word," said Putzlocher, the President and CEO of Trilight. "We've been excited to make this film for so long. It's almost surreal. We knew coming back to Swift was a lot of responsibility and it was mixed feelings, I guess. It's going to be pretty heavy coming back. I know it'll be an emotional weekend." The story originally came together based on the book, Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos, written by former Bronco Bob Wilkie with Gregg Drinnan and Leesa Culp. It tells the story of the Broncos through the 1986 bus crash, the 1989 Memorial Cup Championship, the fallout of the Graham James scandal, and the way those players emerged from those traumatic experiences. Putzlocher still would like to see that story become a feature film. "I think it's probably just the next step in the process for me," he said. "Getting doors slammed on you all the time, saying no's for so long for making a film. It was like, okay, well, let me try this. Let me at least get this story out there because a lot of people still don't know about what the story is, especially people out east. I want everybody to know what the story was, and just how resilient these kids were and this community was. And I'm hoping to be able to move forward in a positive way after this documentary is released." Trilight screened the documentary for Swift Current Broncos staff in the spring. They then had a premier in September at the Hockey Hall of Fame in September. "I think anytime we've shown it since Swift, Toronto, Ottawa with the MPs, we were in Drumheller, in Kamloops, in Calgary, in Regina, the same thing happens every place we go," Putzlocher said. "People just want to talk about it. They want to talk about how it relates to them. I think that's a producer's goal anytime to make a film, you want people to like it. For some reason, this one stays, and it resonates with people, and everybody just wants to talk after they see it. It's pretty incredible." He always wanted to make sure to have a special screening in Swift Current. "I think because this is where it happens," Putzlocher noted. "It always came back to Swift. What happened there. I just felt like it was important just to get there and show it on a big screen and let the community see what I've been trying to get done for the last 10 years." The screening on Monday will also bring together some members of the families of the four Broncos lost during the bus crash. "I know that some of the families of Scott, Trent, Chris, and Brent are coming," Putzlocher said. "You have to take stock sometimes and look and say, we might be filmmakers or whatever, but we weren't there. We didn't experience this. We have a responsibility with people. Maybe some will like it. Maybe this will trigger some trauma. We don't know. We're very considerate to that. I think that it's weighing heavily on me that we did something that really is going to affect people." The event on Monday begins with an Alumni Meet & Greet at 12:30 pm. The program begins at 2:00 pm with the screening set to start at 2:20 pm. It will include a discussion with Wilkie, alumni, and the film’s producers. You can click here to purchase tickets.