Streaming with closed captions
Eddy Haymour has been called a dreamer, business mogul and madman. After immigrating from Lebanon in 1955, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to develop a successful chain of barbershops in Edmonton. When he bought Rattlesnake Island in the early 1970s—a significant landmark in Lake Okanagan—Eddy’s ambition was to transform it into a Middle Eastern–themed amusement park, complete with a miniature golf course, submarines and massive camel-shaped ice cream stand. A potential fantasyland to some was an outright ecological disaster to others. What followed was a nightmare of legal obstacles and political interference that has dragged out for more than 40 years of his life. Now well into his 80s, Eddy clings to the hope of completing his exotic vision, but time is running out. Expertly blending archival material with riveting re-enactments, director Greg Compton crafts a captivating story about a visionary man who challenged authority by any means necessary. Alexander Rogalski
This film includes a pre-recorded Q&A.
Canadian Spectrum program sponsored by
MEDIA COVERAGE