It's been a ride, but Woodstock filmmaker is set to premiere feature film Saturday

It all started when Woodstock videographer Matt Power posted an ad on Kijiji advertising his services. 

A reply from an American businessman was simple: "I have a movie that I would like to make, and it's going to be low-budget and self-funded."

It was a red flag, he said. But after chatting more, he decided to take the risk. 

Five years later, Power will see the feature-length film he directed and produced premiere in his home town. Some local southwestern Ontario landmarks and locations are featured in the film, including Woodstock, Ingersoll and Innerkip.

What If It Was Me? premieres Saturday, Jan. 20 at Theatre Woodstock at 7:30 p.m.

Power spoke with Travis Dolynny on CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive. 

The following has been edited for length and clarity. 

Travis Dolynny: How did you fall into this film project?

Matt Power: It was a crazy experience for me. It was a Kijiji ad I had posted. I got a reply from a total stranger and was a little skeptical at first to be honest. But after meeting with the gentleman, learning a little bit more about him, I found out his name was Mark Schneider and that he was a businessman from the U.S. who had a family friend who was a football player who was injured in a game and he wanted to tell his story through a film.

TD: What is the film all about?

MP: The film is a [true story] about two brothers. One brother's name is Buddy Miley, and he became paralyzed in football game and tragic accident and was paralyzed from the neck down. He never recovered and he had a lot of hope that he would one day be a pro football player. Those dreams were lost after his accident.

But his younger brother, Jimmy Miley, excelled at sports as well and actually went on to play pro baseball for the LA Dodgers. But he felt guilty that he had this opportunity that his big brother never had. So, he literally walked away from his pro baseball career to go home and help his mother to take care of Buddy.

TD: So, you were promoting your skills on Kijiji, and then Mark Schneider reached out to you. What was that like?

MP: It was something I've never experienced before, to be honest. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have this opportunity. And I'm very grateful for it because there's a lot of people who aspire to direct a feature film and to have an opportunity like this just come out of nowhere. It was really an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience.