Canada. 1940. In a time and country fraught with the uncertainties of war, Prime Minister MacKenzie King calls for the destruction of any “subversive elements” on the nation’s soil. The Act is supported by the majority of Canadians: anxious, patriotic and “intolerant” of fascism. After Canada officially declares war with Italy, Romano, a recent immigrant, is arrested without charge in his own home. Torn from the arms of his terrified and pregnant wife Maria, Romano is held against his will with hundreds of men of Italian descent at a prisoner-of-war camp in Petawawa, Ontario. These individuals were never officially charged with any crime. Playing out the ironies of a government acting “to protect its citizens,” Paradise by the River details the struggle to preserve morality in a nation and in a time seemingly intent on its demise.

Cast of two women and eight men.