Passchendaele Calgary roots are easy to find. Paul Gross shot his 2008 film near the city, starting in August 2007, and set a big piece of the story right here. He wrote it, directed it and played Sergeant Michael Dunne.
Dunne comes home wounded from the Great War and lands in a Calgary hospital. That’s where he meets Sarah, and where a love story starts that follows him back across the ocean when her younger brother enlists. It’s a Calgary tale told on a very big canvas.
The production matched that canvas. It cost $20 million, which made it the costliest film funded entirely in Canada at that time, and Gross brought in 200 extras for the big scenes. The Government of Alberta helped fund it too, which we call a smart bet.
There’s a personal thread underneath all of it. Gross has said the story grew from his own grandfather’s Great War experience, and that gives the movie a warmth you can feel.
The film opened the Toronto International Film Festival, then won the 2009 Genie Award for Best Picture and the Golden Reel Award for the top-grossing Canadian film. Not a bad résumé for a story that begins in a Calgary hospital.
If you like your film history local, read why set in Calgary is not the same as shot in Calgary, then go back to the silent era with Nell Shipman in Alberta and Hoot Gibson at the Stampede. You’ll see how long this province has been a film set.
Then press play on Passchendaele and watch for the Calgary scenes.
More from the archive: The Chase Takes a Calgary Flames Story to the Rosies and Interstellar Alberta Filming Put Nanton and Okotoks on Screen.
Quick answers
Passchendaele was filmed near Calgary, Alberta, with principal photography beginning in August 2007. The story is set partly in Calgary and partly on the battlefields of Flanders, and the Government of Alberta helped fund the production.
Paul Gross wrote and directed Passchendaele and also starred as Sergeant Michael Dunne. The 2008 film opened the Toronto International Film Festival and won the 2009 Genie Award for Best Picture, along with the Golden Reel Award for top-grossing Canadian film.
Yes, much of Passchendaele is set in Calgary. Sergeant Michael Dunne is sent home to recover in a Calgary hospital, where he meets Sarah, and the story follows him back to the battle with her younger brother David.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia, Paul Gross official site, Reel Canada.
