Mindemoya woman was POW in Japanese camp in Japan during WWII
TORONTO—The award-winning film company Saaren Films will be doing a full-length feature film on Ethel Mulvany, a Mindemoya woman who was a prisoner of war (POW) inside a Japanese concentration camp during World War Two, about her life, including here on the Island. Ms. Mulvany’s story has been the subject of two books, including one by Suzanne Evans, ‘The Taste of Longing, Ethel Mulvany and Her Starving Prisoners of War Cookbook.’
Noura Kevorkian, who operates Saaren Films told The Expositor that after producing a film during the COVID-19 pandemic she and “my partner and I went on a holiday in Prince Edward County when my partner gave me a copy of the book written by Suzanne Evans about Ethel Mulvany. I fell in love with Ethel and was inspired by her story.”
“Ethel Mulvany was certainly a woman who faced adversity—a POW in a Japanese Concentration Camp in World War Two,” said Ms. Kevorkian. “The story of Ethel was so amazing and gave me inspiration. We decided to do the project, a feature length film.”
Canada History wrote on May 29, 2022, “In Pioneer Museum (in Mindemoya) there is a small red bible. Upon close inspection, one can see where the spine has been chewed by a starving prisoner of war.”
“In ‘The Taste of Longing’,” Suzanne Evans tells the remarkable story of the bible’s owner, Manitoulin Island’s Ethel Rogers Mulvany. After marrying a British doctor and settling in Singapore, Ms. Mulvany was taken as a civilian prisoner of war following the invasion by Japan in 1942.
“Conditions in the prison were horrific, with overcrowding, disease and hunger among the worst injustices. Ms. Mulvany suffered from bipolar disorder, as well as an unshakeable sense of duty, and she constantly busied herself with projects. To distract female prisoners from their constant hunger, Ms. Mulvany encouraged them to record their favourite recipes, which she compiled into the Prisoners of War Cookbook. It was one of her many acts of resistance during the time she was imprisoned,” wrote Canada History.
The latter part of the war was hard on Ms. Mulvany, as she suffered through torture, solitary confinement and serious bouts of mental illness before she was finally freed in 1945. She made her way back to Manitoulin Island and eventually published her cookbook as a way to tell her story. She raised $18,000 dollars, which she donated to hospitalized former POWs in England.
“’The Taste of Longing’ is an engaging read that explores war, loss, illness and the indomitable strength of the human spirit. Ms. Evans uses oral history, diaries, and of course, recipes to uncover Mulvany’s journey from Manitoulin Island to Singapore’s Changi prison and back again. Ms. Mulvany’s colourful personality shines through the pages, while her story is at once devastating and inspiring,” wrote Canada History.
Ms. Evans told The Expositor that she came upon the story of Ethel Mulvany, “when I was working in the Canadian War Museum looking for stories about Canadian women and the war involving physical and occupational therapy. I found a story about Ethel and signature quilts that she had made to give to Japanese, Australian and British hospitals, and I thought this was interesting and I decided to dig deeper.”
“Then I read a story about her collecting recipes from other female prisoners. It seemed perverse at first, when so many people were dreaming of food,” said Ms. Evans.
“And I was so lucky when I wanted to find out more information on Ethel,” said Ms. Evans, who through conversations with a neighbour and another person who lived just 10-minute drive from her home in Ottawa that provided her contacts to find out more about Ms. Mulvany.
“I am very excited that a film is going to be made on Ethel based on the book,” said Ms. Evans. “Noura and her husband optioned the film rights for the book, and I understand the majority of the filming will take place in the spring.”
Ms. Evans will be the guest speaker at the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies being hosted by the Old Mill Heritage Museum and the Kagawong Cenotaph Committee on November 11. “It gives me an opportunity to visit Manitoulin Island and visit people there. As it stands now, we will be descending on the Island on November 9, with my two daughters who had asked to come as well.” They will stay on the Island until November 12.
“Well, when I originally undertook the book project, I felt that it would be a story that people would like to read and I’m sure the full-length documentary film will be one that people will like to see,” said Ms. Evans.
Saaren Films is a company based in Toronto that has won numerous awards. “We’re visiting the Island on November 11 to film the Remembrance Day celebration in Kagawong and see the Island, where Ethel lived, where she worked as a teacher and talk to people that have more information on her background. She is definitely a deserving Canadian woman to have her story told. She worked with the Red Cross as a nurse, fed prisoners, and gave hope to 400 women and children in prison.”
Ms. Kevorkian said while she is on the Island, “we will do more research. The actual filming for the film will take place in the spring.” She explained it usually takes about two months for the filming to be completed. “The story of Ethel will be a feature length film about 80 minutes long.”
“We already have a very rich archive about her life through audio interviews, pictures from prison, of her and her life,” continued Ms. Kevorkian. “We will be meeting with people on the Island, anyone who remembers Ethel and can share stories, and we are going to be able to use4 information and photos on display at the Pioneer Museum (in Mindemoya) and the Old Mill Heritage Museum (in Kagawong). I’m hoping that other people that have pictures or anything that relates to Ethel and her life will contact us. We have a lot of material to work with, but we are always looking for more. They can forward it to Rick Nelson, curator of the museum in Kagawong who is going to be our guide on Manitoulin Island. You never know what is out there. We already have recipes, books, a suitcase, pictures and audio interviews and a whole lot more. But we are always looking for more to use in the film.”
Mr. Nelson told The Expositor that at the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Kagawong on November 11, Suzanne Evans, author of The Taste of Longing will be the featured speaker at the ceremony. “Noura and the film crew will be there as well as people who knew or know about Ethel Mulvany will be there as well. I will be taking Noura on a visit to many sites pertaining to Ethel, like the Perivale School where she taught, to her gravesite, and where she lived in Mindemoya.”
