OMNI budgets $32.5M for reality TV Dramas, docs go primetime At least 225 programs will be produced NICHOLAS KEUNG IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER TORONTO STAR (02/07/04) What does $32.5 million buy? If, like OMNI television, you're a private broadcaster with a commitment to multicultural programming, that money will get you hundreds of untold stories from a wide variety of ethnic communities. Having heard for years about the Canadian plane that crashed in her father's tiny Italian village of Bardi during WWII, Anna Chiappa was always eager to trace the dead pilot's story. After Sept. 11, Hina Khan felt the urge to document her self-journey to "reconcile with a Muslim face that I was born to." Felipe Gomes wanted to pass on the tales of Canada's Portuguese pioneers to his two Canadian-born daughters, so they would be proud of the family's cultural heritage. Melissa DiMarco, an aspiring actress of Italian descent, was excited to celebrate the success of Nia Vardalos, the star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, while exploring the Greek woman's humble Winnipeg roots. OMNI has planned to fund at least 225 third-language, half-hour dramas and documentaries in the next seven years through the $32.5 million set aside in the Ontario Independent Producers' Initiative fund. OMNI 1 and 2 will broadcast 29 of these programs in 2004, beginning this month. All the shows will also be adopted into English and other languages in its multilingual programming. "The primary sources of the stories come from the people who live and breathe in the communities. These are 100 per cent Canadian realities and stories told in their perspectives and in their language of comfort. It is really exciting," said Madeline Ziniak, OMNI's vice president and station manger, who is of Belarussian descent. The fund was established in 2002 after extensive consultations with the communities, who expressed the needs for ethno-specific programme productions and the frustration of getting appropriate funding. The money was a godsend to neophyte producer Chiappa, who is an Ottawa-based community worker by training. As a little girl growing up in Canada, Chiappa also heard her father, Antonio, talking about the story of the pilot, whose flight, bearing the Canadian Maple Leaf, crashed in Bardi. Although the Canadian pilot and the five soldiers — from the U.K. and New Zealand — on board were total strangers to the villagers, they were all saluted as heroes and given proper burials without their families' knowledge. "It's a very small event in all of everything during the Second World War, but it has a tremendous impact on the small community in their selection of Canada as their home," said Chiappa, whose family moved to Canada when she was a toddler. Chiappa said the story reminds people that, in the midst of chaos, there's still a lot of humanity, which signifies what Canada is all about. Khan, a graduate of Seneca College's radio and television program, still remembered vividly the day when she saw on television the collapse of the Twin Towers in Manhattan on Sept. 11. "I was shocked like anyone else and kept saying to myself, `Please don't let it be a Muslim act,'" the 34-year-old Toronto woman recalled. The non-practising Muslim woman started to raise questions to her religious identity, prompting a self-journey and documentary of the religion. She interviewed members of the Muslim community in Canada and even the known right-wing believers in London, Dr. Muhammad Al-Masari and Shaykh Abu-Hamza. "I was scared because these two gentlemen allegedly had ties with those behind Sept. 11 and were happy about Sept. 11. And I wanted to hear about their views and hear from them face to face," Khan explained. "I hope I can open doors for people like myself that it is okay to question one's faith and belief." Despite the Portuguese community's long history in Canada, Gomes said it has remained a relatively invisible group because of the social stigma felt by its members as a result of the dictatorship regime of Antonio Salazar back home. "Many of the first generation Portuguese are still afraid to acknowledge their Portugal roots and they should not be ashamed of being Portuguese," said Gomes, 42, who came to Canada from Lisbon in 1987. The OMNI funding is timely, with Canada's Portuguese community celebrating its 50th anniversary in Canada, since the first wave of migrants arrived in Halifax in 1954. The documentary depicts the past, the present and the future of the community. While a lot of people see the glory of Nia Vardalos in her blockbuster success in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Toronto actress DiMarco is more eager to see the Greek Canadian's struggle from ethnic roots. It was certainly not an easy journey for Vardalos, DiMarco found out through research and interviews with people who have played key roles in the actress's life. "She was turned away by Second City because she didn't fit in. There were a lot of obstacles in her way to where she is today, but Nia overcame all that. And at the end of the day, she followed her dream and succeeded," said DiMarco. "Her dream symbolizes the dreams of those who come to Canada from other parts of the world. Her story is simply inspiring." Gomes' Strong Hearts, Steady Hands will be broadcast in Portuguese on OMNI 1 on Feb. 7; Chiappa's Fallen Heroes in Italian on OMNI 1 on Feb. 28; Khan's Jihad: Struggling with Islam in Pushto on OMNI 2 on Feb. 28; and DiMarco's Dreamseekers: Nia Vardolos on OMNI 1 on April 3. Details of the programming schedule is available on the broadcaster's Website at http://www.omnitv.ca.