“By the grace of the Almighty the twelve months I have given to this project have been nothing short of a labour of love.” This is how Fahim Hamid Ali ends his afterword in the program for his documentary “Magical Milton.” The film premiered at the Mattamy Theatre inside the FirstOntario Centre for the Arts Milton.

The doors opened at 1pm, and seating was on a first-come first-serve basis. The 45-minute documentary took almost a year to make began at 2pm. “The crew was amazing, and the documentary subject was interesting for them,” Ali said in an email interview. It came after a conversation with Milton Mayor Gord Krantz regarding his interest in being a part of a documentary on Milton. The afternoon started with a short introduction from Ali, followed by a live performance by Milton’s Singing Priest Father Mark Curtis.

The film focused on Milton’s past, present, and future through the use of interviews. “I consider it a great honour to have met, and interacted with personalities from the walk of fame as well as mingling with the international diaspora,” Ali said. Those interviewed included Chris Hadfield, as well as local councillors, and Tiger Jeet Singh Sr, and son Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. The interview subjects were picked to represent a variety of Miltonians. “The famous, and the humble ones, and a good mix of ethnic backgrounds and professions.” It touched on contributions made by the Italian community through the Italian Canadian Club of Milton (ICCM) as well as the South Asian community. Interviews took place from October, 2018 to November, 2019.

Ward 2 councillor John Challinor served as a Consulting Producer. “His knowledge, experience, guidance and advice was a great help,” Ali said in the email. Magical Milton was sponsored by Rogers, Tim Hortons, Mattamy Homes, and Given Road West Communications. The plan is to show it at film festivals, and bring it to television.

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