Many people who grew up in the community of Altona will always remember the horrific event that took place on Nov. 17, 1990, when two local teens were tied up, assaulted, and left to die in a burning house.
In a captivating new documentary titled Altona, the Affolter brothers—Heath, Jon, Nathan and Thomas—and executive producer Craig Langdon delve into the profound events that unfolded that dark night.
After years of interviews and production, the film debuted Dec. 2 at the Whistler Film Festival and has been livestreamed by hundreds, many from Altona itself, in the weeks since.
The documentary features animations of eyewitness accounts, archival news footage and interviews with people like Tyler Pelke, who was 14 when he survived the brutal attack that took the life of his friend, 15-year-old Curtis Klassen.
Altona focuses on Pelke’s survival story, but also includes the entire town’s experience, sharing the enduring impact felt even 33 years later.
Heath Affolter explains that the goal was to do justice to the community, with respect to the raw emotions that are still carried by so many.
The film includes comments and memories of those who were most impacted by the 1990 incident, offering their own perspectives on forgiveness and recovery.
Affolter said the idea for the documentary came to him after hearing Pelke share his story.
“I just happened to be in the audience for one of Tyler’s inspirational talks. I was blown away. I was fresh out of film school at the time. I think as a filmmaker you tend to look at the world as stories, and anything intriguing like that is fascinating. I was really affected. It’s an incredible story. It’s harrowing. It’s intense but with this line of positivity and hope and inspiration within it.”
The pair talked about the option of turning the story into a film. In 2020, Langdon came on board.
“Craig was able to get us to the green light phase of it. When we set out to do it, it was very much the Tyler Pelke story in talking about his specific journey,” Affolter says. “But as we started filming it, it became clear to us that this story was so much bigger than Tyler himself and there were so many people that were involved and affected by it and so many different perspectives of what happened. Not only during that time but since that time. Back then we started calling it Pelke and that’s when it changed to being called Altona.
The documentary explores themes of forgiveness and trauma recovery.
A unique aspect of Altona is the inclusion of the perspective of Earl Giesbrecht, the perpetrator of the attack. After a year of effort, Langdon secured a meeting with Giesbrecht, who, though not appearing on camera, provided a letter read by an actor in the film.
Langdon says it was vital to include Giesbrecht’s viewpoint..
“It shook the community and that’s what makes this story so beautiful. Understanding the different perspectives and through this tragedy, the healing that took place. For everyone it was a different journey,” he says.
“I realized there is another perspective and that is Earl. He’s on his own path of healing. If we’re going to be objective and explore all aspects through this film, Earl’s story was important to share.”
Langdon travelled to meet Earl, now on full parole, and a five-minute cup of coffee turned into a three-hour dinner.
“It was an impactful three hours. He felt the genuineness of what we were trying to create. He decided to share so we just did an off-camera interview at one point and that’s what you see on film.”
The documentary brings a variety of other perspectives—from Klassen’s best friends to both mothers recalling the pain, shock and grief that had to be processed and how it impacted their lives.
The film’s opening features Klassen’s mother, Milly, expressing a sentiment that guided her through the years following her son’s murder: “Forgiveness does not excuse their actions. Forgiveness stops their action from destroying your heart.”
In producing the film, Langdon says he has a greater appreciation for the story behind the events.
“Knowing that there’s a lot more depth than just the headline. It’s a gift that has been given to me through this process.”
Affolter says the film changed his perspective on forgiveness.
“If Tyler was able to forgive Earl for what he did, why is it that so many of us have trouble forgiving for things that are so petty? I think my perspective changed throughout and it was much more the idea that there is no level of badness to make something unforgivable. Everybody has a different understanding of what forgiveness is and everybody is going to take their own time and their own process to be able to reach or not reach that point. There is no right or wrong within that. And no bar to be set for all of us. Everybody is different and everybody must let go on that journey in their own way.”
Looking back, Pelke observes that how you relate to your experiences changes over time.
“Especially when you grow. When you continue to put in the work in and continue to self reflect. I relate to it differently now. I think about grace for myself in not being able to help Curt. Or grace for myself in how I’ve handled relationships in the past or just grace as I begin to see things differently. No, I don’t think time softens it. I think it just changes how you relate to it. You feel things in a little different way. There’s a gift that comes with time and retrospection.”
Part of that forgiveness journey, he says, is forgiving yourself.
“Regret robs us of a lot of growth, and you can get stuck in there if you’re not careful. I’m not perfect and I’m still working on things every day. For the folks who watched this film, I hope they can find further inspiration from whatever they see in that story. It’s richer now because it shows a broader impact beyond what happened to me.
“Listening to the moms talk and Earl’s statement, it all offers a lot of perspective. Maybe there’s some healing in there, I know Milly wishes people would find it, and I hope people can find some forgiveness and peace by watching this.”
Altona recently clinched the Whistler Film Festival World Documentary Award and is available for streaming across Canada until Dec. 17 online at whistlerfilmfestival.com.
