A native Midale resident and Saskatchewan filmmaker, Jack Hilkewich, has begun an ambitious project to honor Dr. William Mainprize, which will include a feature documentary film and an interactive display that fully details his life and accomplishments. Born and raised in Midale, Hilkewich has launched a fundraising campaign to help him realize his dream with a high-quality documentary film and legacy project, as well as creating a bursary foundation for a scholarship to be awarded in Dr. Mainprize’s name.

Hilkewich on how it all started, "I guess it happened in 2011, I'm from Midale and I was actually delivered by Doc Mainprize in 1964, I think that was the last official year he was a doctor. He retired after that, and I have known about him all my life, and I lived in that area for most of my childhood years. The 50th anniversary was back in 2011 and that's when it was decided. I took a camera out to the 50th-anniversary celebrations that were happening out at the new Mainprize Park. My goal was to put it on a DVD and offer it for sale at cost, just for something to do. When I went down there, I realized a lot of people didn't know the meaning behind Mainprize Park, especially the younger generation." That is the reason why Hilkewich decided to make a bigger appeal for the documentary. 

"I have been in the film, Video, TV industry since 1984 so I've worked on a lot of different film and video projects and also produced and directed a lot of things," Hilkewich goes on with a few of his credentials. 

The documentary has been a large project and Hilkewich adds where they are at, "We are about 80 to 85% done shooting, we still have some interviews to do, but those are out of province and require more funds to be raised. Along with going out and actually recording those interviews. Then theirs all the post work to do."

"A lot of interesting stories, everyone sort of has their own anecdote about Doc Mainprize. He helped a lot of people, he was quite instrumental in securing the lives of a lot of people. A lot of tough deliveries, illnesses, and injuries that he attended to. A lot of people owe him a debt of gratitude."

"There is a lot to do in post-production, and I do not think I will be done by the end of the year. Hilkewich has his timeline set up, "My goal is to secure the final bit of fundraising so I can finish it, and I'm hoping to have that secured by the end of the year and as we move forward and get those funds this year, I will get that ball rolling. Hopefully, have most of the stuff done by the end of the year, I am doing some re-enactments strictly relying on photos. A lot of the stories involve some pretty amazing and emotional content, and I want to visualize that so I am doing it in 3D animation. That's my background, and that's going to take a significant amount of time to finish, so I imagine that will be the last part of the production. I'm hoping that no later than this time next year."

The proposed bursary “comes from the spirit of Doc Mainprize himself,” said Hilkewich, and will be awarded to a Saskatchewan resident attending post-secondary education and who is enrolled in an area of the medical profession, including veterinary, medicine, nursing, optometry or dentistry. The bursary will assist someone who may not otherwise have the means to attend post-secondary education.

If you would like to learn more about the documentary and stay updated on all the post-production you can check out all that information here. The Town of Midale and the RM of Cymri, along with many private donations have made this endeavor possible to this point.