St. Marys to host Canadian film premiere on Friday, July 6

A boy with strong ties to St. Marys has inspired a filmmaker halfway around the world – and on Friday, July 6, residents will have the opportunity to be part of its Canadian premiere.

The Bengali film Uma was released in India on June 6, 2018. It details the story of a father’s desire to fulfill his terminally ill daughter’s finish wish, which is to attend the celebration of Durga Puja, the largest celebrated festival of Bengali Hindus. Due to her poor health, Uma is unable to attend the ceremony so her father recreates the festival with help from the community.

Uma’s director Srijit Mukherji was inspired to write and create his film after seeing Evan Leversage’s story on Facebook. Leversage died on Dec. 6, 2015 – but he enjoyed a last Christmas thanks in part to St. Marys. The seven-year-old was diagnosed with cancer at age 2, and with a terminal diagnosis in 2015, Evan’s family granted his final wish of celebrating a last Christmas.

Perth County EMS, and notably its St. Marys-based Commander Jeff Sager, played an integral role in this magical day, which took place on October 24, 2015 in St. George, Ontario. Not only did Perth County EMS help create a traditional family Christmas, they helped lead the charge in St. George to turn the entire community into a Christmas wonderland. The event received national coverage, and Evan was bestowed with the nickname “the boy who moved Christmas”.

Much of Evan’s family still lives in St. Marys and area, organizing the popular “Evan’s Touch the Truck” fundraiser at Milt Dunnell Field, taking place this year on September 8. Perth County EMS has also donated a bench in Leversage’s memory to Cadzow Park, overlooking the new splash pad.

Leversage’s mother Nicole Wellwood, and her close cousin Ashley Agar travelled to India for Uma’s June premiere, and have coordinated the presentation of Uma in St. Marys, St. George and Toronto, as well as a visit from Mukherji. The three will speak prior to the film, which will have English subtitles. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.

Tickets for the screening are $12 each, which covers the licensing rights and includes a small donation to Evan’s Legacy, the foundation which seeks an end to childhood brain cancer. They can be reserved and purchased by emailing evanstouchthetruck@live.ca.

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Contact

Andrea Macko | Events Coordinator

519-284-2340, ext. 249 | amacko@town.stmarys.on.ca