Clay, Creativity & the Comeback: Documentary

Shooting and editing a feature length documentary in a matter of months is no small task - particularly when the story you're setting out to tell is one that hasn't really been documented before. This entire filmmaking experience was exhilarating, exhausting, eye-opening, and consuming - and the result was Clay, Creativity & the Comeback.

Clay, Creativity & the Comeback tells the story of how the industrial ruins and abandoned factories of Medicine Hat, Alberta's once booming clay industry were saved from demolition and became the inspiration for a renewed cultural landmark and National Historic Site of Canada. 

Medalta Potteries (one of several pottery factories in the area) was where it all began. The idea behind saving this crumbling structure was a grand vision kickstarted by James Marshall and Jack Forbes in the 1970s. It was a dream fraught with obstacles that would take decades, countless volunteers, and an incredible amount of gumption to achieve. 

This original documentary - Clay, Creativity & the Comeback - was made possible by the financial support of TELUS, by the amazing individuals who shared their first hand experiences, and through the cooperation of the Friends of Medalta Society and Medalta in the Historic Clay District (and their incredible team who rallied behind this idea). 

Written, Produced, and Directed by Luke Fandrich.
An Editing Luke Production. Copyright 2019.

More about the behind the scenes production of this documentary here.