Bill Freeman - Films, Plays & Stories

Films, Play, Stories and Awards

I am known primarily as a writer of books such as the Bains Series and adult non-fiction, but I have also written theatrical plays, film scripts and stories.

Substack

Substack is a popular online publishing program designed for writers, podcasters and video creators to build an audience. It is even used by freelance journalists, and people who want to connect to others about art, politics and ideas.

A few years ago a friend suggested that I publish on Substack. I had been writing stories for my family and myself and I had a number of unpublished stories. I decided this might be a good way to get the stories published and connect with my readers. Subsequently I went on to write a number of original stories and published them on Substack.

billfree.substack.com

At this address you will find all of my Substack Stories. I call it “Where stories come from, writing about people, life, humor, facts and fiction.” There are 86 of my stories on the site and they are all free. Read them, distribute them and use them as you want.

The stories are all short, around 1,000 to 1,500 words. Some are about family, others about friends growing up in London, Ontario in the 1950s and still others about incidents or issues that interest me. They were fun to write and I got a lot of nice comments about them from readers.

A couple of years ago I stopped writing and publishing my Substack Stories; I have been working on an adult novel that is not completed yet and more stories in the Bains Series. I didn’t have the time or energy to work on all of these things. Maybe I will work on some of these stories for a book in the future.

Still, I’m proud of these stories, and they are free! What could be better than that?

Films and Videos

Several years ago I began working with Wendy Loten, a film maker on different projects. I was the scriptwriter and Wendy was the filmmaker and producer. It was a very productive and satisfying partnership. These are the films and videos we created together.

Mighty Machines

Scriptwriter: “Mighty Machines 2,” a fourteen part half hour programs for pre-school children produced for TVO and Treehouse produced by Loten Media.

Scriptwriter: “Mighty Machines 3,” a fourteen part half hour programs for pre-school children produced for TVO and Treehouse by Loten Media.

These programs are still available from TVO and You Tube. This is the link to the TVO programs.

Elements of Science

Wendy and I worked together on an extensive science series for high school students. She was the producer and film maker while I was the script writer and educational consultant.

In total there were four series in the videos: “Elements of Earth Sciences,” “Elements of Chemistry,” “Elements of Physics,” and “Elements of Biology.” Each series had six twenty-minute films. (It was a lot of work and a lot of filming.)

The Elements of Science series was sold to the Discovery Network. They distribute the programs to schools around the world. They are not available to the public.

Other Videos

Script Writer, “Canada for Children,” A three-part series of videos for elementary school children. Producer: Redcanoe Productions

Script writer, historical consultant, “Hamilton: Where the Rubber Meets the Road,” Producer: Redcanoe Productions

Narrator, “Remembering Toronto,” PBS Buffalo

Script writer, narrator, “Kiev Pecherska Lavra,” 3rd Street Videos

Play for Young Adults:

“Ghosts of the Madawaska,” First performance: Great Canadian Theatre Company, Ottawa, 1985

Play for Adults:

“Glory Days,” First performance: Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton, 1989. Remounted by Theatre Aquarius in September/October 2006

Awards and Prizes:

A Magical Place: Toronto Island and Its People, Certificate of Commendation, Heritage Toronto, October 2000

Casa Loma: Toronto’s Fairy-tale Castle and its Owner, Sir Henry Pellatt, Award of Merit, Heritage Toronto, October, 1999

Prairie Fire selected for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice” list and nominated for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, 1998

Sioux Winter nominated for the Ontario Library Silver Birch Award, 2000

Several books in the Bains Series were selected for “Our Choice” list.

Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature, 1984 (for a body of work, Bains Series)

Shantymen of Cache Lake, Canada Council Award for Juvenile Literature, 1976

National Film Board

These are images created by the NFB that illustrate the first three books in the Bains Series. They are very evocative of the books. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of the artist.