Local Church A Film Set

By Jessica Masse

(WINDSOR, ON) – An up-coming Canadian film entitled Few and Far Between, written and directed by Mitchell J Billing, just received support from one of Windsor’s local churches, St. John’s Anglican Church, has agreed to show their support by allowing J.E.M Productions to use their church facility as a shooting location for the movie.

Here are some of the historical background facts of St John’s Church, according to an article published by Township of Sandwich in 1990 by Frederick Neal. St John’s was founded in 1805. Many of the parishioners had moved to the area when Detroit had been ceded to the U.S. in 1796. The first church building was constructed in 1807 and burned down in 1813 by a retreating American Army from the battle of Moraviantown. The second building was built in 1818 with financial assistance from England and the U.S. and the current building opened in 1872. The adjacent graveyard, restored in 2003, contains gravestones dating from the 18th century. Sandwich is now a part of the city of Windsor; it was amalgamated with Windsor, Walkerville, and Ford City to form the new city in 1935.

The church is known for its beauty. St. John’s remains strong today with the leadership of its Rector The Rev. Bill Bradley. They have a food bank, the Mission to Seamen and the seniors’ housing project. They are very proud to belong to the Sandwich community. While the town of Sandwich which is now not separate from the city of Windsor, its history as the first settlement created as a result of the American Revolution is very interesting. To read more about some of the community outreaches of St John’s Church go to St John’s, Sandwich. St John’s Anglican church is located at 3305 Sandwich Street in Windsor, Ontario.

The marriage between the movie, and the church is perfect because of St. John’s army history, which ties into the movie theme.

The writer and director of the Few and Far Between, Mitchell J Billing is the grandson of the famous Jerry Billing, who is noted in history for flying the Late Cliff Robertson’s Supermarine Spitfire WWII Fighter. When asked about his childhood with the famous grandfather this is what he had to say. “I grew up around and in airplanes, seeing as my grandfather Jerry Billing flew the Late Cliff Robertson’s Supermarine Spitfire (WWII Fighter) for 22 and a half years, for the first 5 years of my life I was exposed to that. When most kids were in day care, I was crawling around on a $2.3 Million Dollar airplane that had seen action during the War. It gives a certain imprint when you’re earliest memory is being held by your mother as your grandfather flies upside down over you (and his house) at 200+ miles per hour, but still slow enough to see his face smiling back, says Mitchell J Billing. To read more about Jerry Billing go to www.spitcrazy.com or www.jerrybilling.com.

Well it is no wonder how Mitchell J. Billing could write a movie surrounded around the war! His current film Few and Far Between, starring Brent Bondy and Maggie Yoell, is about an army wife named Catherine who is emotionally awakened as she learns disturbing news regarding her veteran husband , who is scheduled to arrive home soon. As the information unfolds she discovers new truths about herself. The movie takes places around the time of the Kosovo War.

J.E.M Productions is both proud & appreciative to have received the support of St John’s Anglican Church as well as the Southern Ontario Military Muster for the production of Few and Far Between. I felt honoured when Mitchell entrusted me with producing his film, I read Mitchell’s script and was immediately compelled to get it out there. In order for someone to win the battle they must first believe in the mission. Few and Far Between will begin filming in August 2012.

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