War inspires work of art for musician

If you ask David Porteous why he's so interested in Second World War history, the North York resident can't give you an answer.

"I'm not sure why," said the 26-year-old singer/songwriter. "My dad has tons of books on World War I and World War II and he shared them with me. When I was reading the books I said I would love to see the places I've read about all these years (after the wars had ended)."

So in 2006 at age 22, Porteous and his 70-pound backpack spent five-and-a-half weeks travelling through Europe to gain perspective on all those affected by the Second World War, from soldiers who survived to civilians who live with the war's remnants.

A musician, Porteous brought along his guitar and wrote songs throughout his journey inspired by the sights he saw and people he met, he said.

"In 2003, 2004 I had the idea of doing this but I had no idea what I wanted to shoot or who I wanted to speak with," he said. "But I had faith and I knew something would happen."

And what happened was 35 songs and 50 hours of video, which has been edited down to a 54-minute film titled War Music.

"All the interviews were done on the spot and not planned," Porteous said.

During his travels Porteous ended up in a wooded area of Foy, Belgium, which had been occupied by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War.

"I had a feeling I had to go there," he said. "I walked into the woods and I could feel the history present. I really got a sense of what the area looked like back then. I filmed there for an hour and three songs came out right away."

Porteous said he was cautious in approaching people to interview on camera, noting many came up to him and opened up about how they were affected by war.

"I think it had a lot to do with me being Canadian," he said.

At a cemetery in Holland, Porteous noticed a mother and son visiting the grounds and shortly after engaging her in conversation, she told a story of how a Canadian soldier liberated her town when she was younger.

"I looked at her son and he had a shocked look on his face," Porteous said. "I could tell he had heard these stories before but maybe not in the way his mother was telling it to me."

A graduate of the Harris Institute for the Arts, Porteous said the goal for War Music "was to showcase war doesn't end when the army stops fighting."

War Music will screen Wednesday, Jan. 13 and Thursday, Jan. 14 at Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Ave., at 7 p.m. nightly.

Tickets are $10 at the door.

For information, visit www.warmusic.ca