OMNI Signature Series pays tribute to Canada’s fallen heroes for Remembrance Day Programming Highlights / OMNI1 Posted by RAD on Nov 01, 2004 - 03:37 PM OMNI Television is proud to present the English language premiere broadcast of Fallen Heroes as part of its OMNI Signature Series of Canadian produced documentaries. Previously aired in Italian, this documentary will air on November 13 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Fallen Heroes is part of OMNI Television’s Signature Series, a new block of programming showcasing compelling documentaries that reflect Canada’s ethnocultural composition. Fallen Heroes recalls the crash of a Canadian Royal Air Force Wellington airplane with six crew members into the Apennine Mountains in northern Italy, near the town of Bardi on November 24, 1943, in the midst of WWII. Although the townspeople identified the plane as Canadian, the identities of the airmen were not discovered until 2003. November 24 will mark the 61st anniversary of this tragedy. The documentary looks at the impact of the crash on the small community of Bardi and how six decades later, two Ottawa families, one originally from Bardi, the other, the next of kin of one of the fallen airmen, came together on Parliament Hill to remember. Adriano Chiappa witnessed the crash as a young man and for decades wanted to find the names of the crew so that he could pay tribute to these Canadian airmen. Hedley Fitch III was only an infant when his father died in the War. He was touched to learn, in 2003, that the residents of Bardi had given his father and his crew members, a dignified burial. In May 2003, the community of Bardi came together, with Canadians, including students from the Canadian Battle of Normandy Foundation to honour the fallen airmen at a special ceremony. “Making this documentary made me realize that even in the midst of chaos and war, there is humanity and compassion,” said Anna Chiappa, co-producer of Fallen Heroes with James Blondeau of Dunrobin Castle Entertainment. “It also opened up my eyes to the often forgotten sacrifices that Canadians made in WWII in Italy.” Fallen Heroes was made possible with 100 percent funding from the OMNI Television Independent Producers Initiative. Interested producers can access funding criteria at OMNI Television’s web site: www.omnitv.ca. This article is from CHANNEL CANADA   http://www.channelcanada.com/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.channelcanada.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=616