The Story

In late October of 1918, the deadliest maritime disaster along North America’s Pacific Northwest coast occurred. It’s a dramatic story, considering the SS Princess Sophia was grounded for 40 hours surrounded by helpless rescue vessels before she sank. It’s shrouded in mystery, since not a single soul of the 350+ on board lived to tell the tale. And it’s largely forgotten: the end of World War 1 and the height of the Spanish Flu in the fall/winter of 1918 both had a much-larger impact on world history.

But for a struggling Northern economy, the sinking of the Princess Sophia had longer-lasting effects. 1 out of 10 residents of the dwindling gold town of Dawson perished in the disaster. Similar numbers are shared by other gold towns across Canada and Alaska. The White Pass & Yukon Route (WP&YR) owned and operated most of the sternwheelers on the Yukon and subsidiaries and 87 WP&YR employees died headed south for the winter on the Sophia.Wealthy prospectors were aboard. Musicians, politicians and sourdoughs of the North who were prominent leaders in their communities all perished alike. And waiting to receive the hundreds of oil-soaked bodies was the small, Alaskan town of Juneau at the height of a deadly flu pandemic.

I have been fascinated by the dramatic story of the Sophia ever since I first heard it years ago. My name is Silas Firth and I’m a filmmaker from Homer, Alaska. Like most of the rest of the world, I grew up without reading a word about the Princess Sophia’s sinking in any history books, despite living along Alaska’s coast myself. When I finally first heard the story, I knew that it deserved to be told. The life stories of the victims deserve to be remembered. And the tales of heroism that emerged from those cold days in October, deserve to be retold for generations of Canadians and Alaskans to come.

In this documentary, I travel to ports of call the Sophia visited, where her memory has not been completely forgotten. To Vanderbilt Reef where she foundered and sank. And we discuss and unveil her story with historians, divers and family members of the victims and rescuers.

The narrative will weave between the retelling of the story, with historical photographs, present-day footage and animation, interviews on particular points of interest and my journey along the Alaskan and Canadian coast retracing Sophia’s voyage. As with any mystery, controversies arose in the wake of the disaster. Why were the passengers not attempted to be removed while the ship was lodged on the reef? How did she get over one mile off-course to begin with? Should the Canadian Pacific Railway have been held accountable or was the tragedy truly a “peril of the sea” as the 13-year lawsuit determined? Wild rumors were also spread: that the captain was drunk and partying when the ship ran aground or that people were shot to be prevented from leaving the ship.

Amidst rumors and tall-tales, true stories of heroism do emerge, as well as a glimpse into an Alaskan and Canadian culture that is forever gone. While exploring these stories, the documentary will retell what happened that October of 1918, remembering the lives of those lost and reminding us where we’ve come from.

I have already interviewed several historians and divers of the wreck. I have been in contact with numerous other divers, family members, authors and maritime historians who are willing to share their stories. While retelling the story, the documentary will cover my journey to speak with these people and retrace the Sophia’s history.

The Campaign

I began this documentary with the support of a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award. This covered travel to Juneau for research, footage and interviews, as well as gear and research expenses. 

Now that I have a rough draft of the film structure and a lot of great material, I'm looking to fill in the gaps. There are more interviews I want to capture, more locations I would like to visit, and finishing post-production costs to cover. These are the expenses this funding campaign will cover.

The Goal

It's important to remember stories. The tragedy of the Princess Sophia shaped Alaskan and Canadian history forever. By helping us make this film and share this story to a wider audience, we can ensure that it is never forgotten, and that the lives of those lost are honored and celebrated.

Risks & Challenges

Making a movie is expensive. Even a small-crewed, documentary passion project. We're doing our best to keep costs low, with travel and post-production (especially archival footage releases!) being some of our last big expenses. 
We have a lot of footage shot already from our first round of production, which is an advantage: we have a story, we have a movie. But we want it to be the best it can be, which takes time. Our goal is to finish additional interviews and footage this fall, wrapping up post-production during the winter of 22/23. This depends on budget and crew schedules, but shouldn't be too delayed since editing is already underway.

Please Share!

Even if you can't contribute, you can contribute to the success of this film by sharing this campaign with your friends and family via email, messages and social media.