FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Riverthieves and Algonquin College Students Team Up to Create “Mats Sundin’s Tears” Official Music Video  

(Perth, 22 June, 2020)  A film crew from Algonquin College’s School of Media and Design have teamed up with Eastern Ontario Alt-Folk Band, the Riverthieves, to produce the first official music video from the group’s 2018 album Soldier.  

“We were very excited at the prospect of working with a proper film crew and were very impressed by the gear and the level of organization,” said vocalist, Chris Knowles. “It is always super cool to work with artists from outside your own craft.”  

Producers Lindsay Gerro and Raienkonnis Edwards developed the video concept, which roughly follows the song’s lyrical telling of the night Mats Sundin scored his remarkable 500th career goal through the eyes of a viewer watching from home and another watching from his FOB in Afghanistan.  

“We certainly didn’t have the budget to shoot on location,” jokes Gerro who also directed the project, “so there was no way we could shoot the story in a literal way; but we did manage to recreate enough of the elements artistically that the story arc and the spirit of the song are preserved. What was important to us was to make sure the essence of the song was captured; the way that hockey can be a unifying experience for Canadians anywhere at any time, while simultaneously paying homage to the sacrifices that were made during that fateful day in October, 2009.”  

The video was shot in a single day in two locations, on a farm near Perth and then at the Carp Airport later that night.  

“It was a strangely exhausting but wonderful day,” Chris Knowles reflected. “We just had to do what we were told; the film crew had to make all the decisions.”  

“Raienkonnis assembled all the footage and synced the sound,” Explains Gerro. “Once we had the film shot there was still quite a bit of work to be done in post production. It takes time to make it right.”  

The video’s release had been planned to promote the Riverthieves’ 2020 concert series but was postponed when the entirety of the band’s shows were cancelled by COVID pandemic. Look for the premiere of the the video during the Almonte Celtfest’s virtual festival in July. 

Contact: Finley Mullally, info@riverthieves.com   

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Photos by: Patrycja Maksalon