Windsor Goodfellows film document looks for the good in pandemic struggle

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Windsor filmmaker Sasha Jordan Appleler was looking for something good in the world during the early darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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That quest for goodness finally culminates in the film Good People: A Documentary On Windsor Goodfellas, which is set to premiere at Imagine Cinemas Lakeshore later this month.

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“At the time, I didn’t know everything and it was very scary,” Appler said.

“I was trying to find the good. How can you immerse yourself in people doing positive things in really negative times?”

A lot of good things are happening in our city

While reading the Windsor Star in the fall of 2020, Appler learned that Mr. and Mrs. Goodfellows struggled to keep their food bank and their annual newspaper deliveries going. He reached out his hand to do some shoots.

“The first day I went there, they told me everything they were doing… I just got inspired and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to tell this story.'” It seemed ”

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Appler said, like many people, he associates Goodfellows with gifts for the holiday season.

But over the next two years and over 25 days of filming, Appler said they realized they were doing so much more. Not only did Good People struggle to put together the 2020 Goodfellows paper drive, but it also chronicles the organization’s 112-year history in the community.

“A lot of good things are happening in our city,” said Appler. He gifted the documentary to the Goodfellows to use to fund their program and raise awareness.

“If it’s happening in our small town, it’s happening everywhere.”

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Goodfellows President Jennifer Wells said she was a little nervous about getting the organization on camera at first, but couldn’t be more excited about how the documentary turned out.

“Sasha did a great job. He really captured the essence of Goodfellas,” said Wells. “When you see it at the end[of the shoot]it will be a message of strength, perseverance, love and gratitude to the community in which we live.

“I am so grateful to him for helping me with this huge project. If he hadn’t approached us, we would never have started.”

Goodfellows runs five major programs almost year-round, including food banks twice a week, according to Wells. Breakfast program in 29 community schools. A shoe and boot program for families with children who need shoes. And that famous Christmas gift food box program.

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In 2020, Goodfellas launched a lunch bag program to help those experiencing homelessness. Wells said it’s his Goodfellows’ fastest-growing program, serving more than 100 people each day on Tuesdays and Fridays. The organization feeds approximately 40,000 people each year.

Wells said he hopes Good People will help more people within the community understand the work Goodfellows do throughout the year.

“So many people in our community believe we are just a Christmas organization. It’s a small part,” she said.

Founded in 1910, Goodfellows has shared that history. COVID-19 was not the organization’s first pandemic.

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“Goodfellas is an organization that is strong enough to endure difficult times,” said Wells. “But what makes us strong is the support we have from the community.”

This year’s Goodfellas Newspaper Campaign, sponsored by the Windsor Star, will run November 24-26 with a fundraising goal of $375,000.

All are invited to the premiere of the Windsor Goodfellas documentary Good People: Windsor Goodfellas on November 21st at 7pm at Imagine Cinemas Lakeshore. The documentary will also be available for streaming on his platform Vimeo (vimeo.com/ondemand/windsorgoodpeople) starting November 22nd for rentals under $1.50, with all proceeds going to Goodfellows.

For more information, visit windsorgoodfellows.org.

ksaylors@postmedia.com

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