NEWS RELEASE
FENIX - THE STORY OF ARNIE STEWART
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"Arnie” Stewart grew up extremely impoverished in the small mining town of Cobalt, Ontario Canada. At the age of 15, he was kicked out of school and told that he would ever amount to anything. Arnie set out on his journey into adulthood with the reading and writing skills of a third grader. In order to survive, he slept in the bushes, ate out of garbage cans and lived in parked cars. This scenario didn’t spell doom for Arnie, he managed to bluff his way through life. Accidentally feeding his kids dog food, living in parked cars, and coming up with elaborate ways to trick others into believing he could read and write. Arnie’s story of survival led to a speaking tour all across Simcoe county with teacher and friend Janet Lee. They handed out thousands of these Arnie cards that encouraged students to ask for help. Arnie passed away in 2012 and a documentary is being made about his life.
Do you remember writing a letter to Arnie? Did Arnie’s life make an impact on you? The film makers would like to include you in their documentary. Come to Arnie’s celebration of life. October 12h at 6PM. We will hear an archived audio message from Arnie, have a few speeches, and a Stewart Family Literacy Award will be given to a deserving family.
All are invited - whether you are a student, educator or parent who met him. Whether you have one of his cards or not. Or whether you are a person with an interest in supporting awareness of the impacts of low literacy. You too could be in the documentary film celebrating the life of a great Canadian Man and the difference he made by telling his story and urging children to always ask for help.
Sylvia Caminer (Writer-Director-Producer) is an Emmy® Award-winner (six total nominations) with extensive credits in theatre, film and television.
Janet Lee (Writer- Producer) was Arnie's advocate and teacher. Together, they started a literacy movement in Canada to raise awareness for adults with low literacy.
FENIX - The Story of Arnie Stewart
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