Dhaene/perry
December 10, 2003
WITH HEAD PIC
Exciting times for Donald D?Haene
By Rob Perry / The Aylmer Express
The last year has been exciting for Donald D?Haene, formerly of Aylmer and now of London.
?A lot has happened,? he said.
Mr. D?Haene wrote a book, ?My Father?s Touch,? about his childhood molestation by his father.
That book has in the last year reached a second printing with a new publisher, a television documentary and a short film entered in an international competition.
The six-minute 20-second film was made with a $5,000 grant from London Arts Council and $15,000 from a film producer.
The film has been entered in an Internet-based film competition, at a computer ?web? site started by Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey.
Out of 1,500 entries, the film was voted into the top 50 within 10 days.
Judging by both Internet users and filmmakers will continue until Christmas.
If the film makes the top 10, it will advance to a showing at the Sundance Film Festival.
The top three films after that will go to another competition in Los Angeles.
The ?W? network, a specialty television channel, sent a documentary crew that filmed Donald, his mother and other family members last March and April.
The documentary will be aired on a series, ?Family Secrets,? early next year. The episode will be titled, ?When Nobody?s Looking.?
He was astounded by the amount of time the crew devoted to filming him and his family.
He and his brother were recorded visiting several childhood haunts in Aylmer, including their former house, East Elgin Secondary School and their church.
The hardest part, he said, was trusting strangers enough to fairly portray their story of abuse.
The documentary maker showed them several examples of her work, which seemed balanced and not sensationalistic.
He said being followed around by cameras all the time was quite an unusual experience.
In a separate project, a film-maker made a short movie about the first chapter of ?My Father?s Touch? last June.
The film was made on Father?s Day weekend. He said that was just a coincidence, and not deliberately ironic timing.
The idea for the film came from Mr. D?Haene. In it, he portrays himself visiting his old family home. Actors play ?ghosts from the past,? including him as a child of 4 and 14 and family members.
Mr. D?Haene said his new publisher was LTI Publishing of North Carolina.
That publisher promised a wide distribution across North America, and perhaps even into Europe.
30 ___________________________________________________________- D?Haene's Film Gathers Honour By James Rose For The Times-Journal Donald D'Haene was sexually abused by his father from the time he was four until age [15]. Now 42, he has completed a short film based on these events that is gaining recognition. "The Difficulty was not telling the story," D'Haene said in an exclusive interview. "It was telling it well." He has, according to a film Web site. D'Haene's film has been honoured in the Top 50 of Kevin Spacey's independent film Web site, www.triggerstreet.com Spacey's site is a haven for independent filmmakers with more than 1,000 films remaining there. D'Haene's film was only there 10 [days] before getting its place of honour. Films must be 10 minutes or less in length, and must be independent. Father's Touch, a film based on D'Haene's [memoir account] of childhood and the sexual abuse trial that followed in 1982 is [based on the first chapter]. D'Haene, a resident of London, Ont., for 19 years, co-wrote and starred in the film. The film's concept took more than a year to complete, but only two days to film. Filmed just outside London on the west side by director Louise Fagan, the piece runs six minutes, 20 seconds. An old house which is soon to be torn down, was the setting. "I trusted Louise to artfully tell my story," said D'Haene. What's ironic is that the filming took place on Father's Day weekend this past June. And, suprisingly enough, filming wasn't torment for the man who has been through so much. "For me it totally worked," said D'Haene. But, it didn't quite work for everybody. D'Haene said Paul Myers, who had to play his dad in the film, had a difficult time adjusting, as he is a father himself. "It was really interesting that I was spending my time making my father feel comfortable," D'Haene said. Approximately 1,000 people have disclosed their stories to D'Haene for support. He said he felt he should do something, as these people "need to have a strong peer support group." "I am alive today because I had great therapists," he said, adding his book and film aren't to help him, but to help others. If the film is picked out of the Top 50 it moves into a Top 50 chance in December. If it lands in the top 10, D'Haene and Fagan will fly in January to The Sundance Film Festival in Utah where the top three are determined.