At first glance, An American in Muskoka is the story of a group of Americans who have cottaged in Muskoka on their own private island for six generations. The tone of the film quickly changes, however, to reveal disgruntled cottagers reluctant to give up the past and blaming their primarily Canadian neighbours for the destruction of Muskoka.

Director and producer Norman Lofts says it is hard to advertise documentaries and getting the message out is always a problem. But controversy sells. Canadian himself, Lofts admits the issue is not black and white, not all Canadians are bad and all Americans good, but “These are a group of people (the Americans) you should look at as an example for keeping Muskoka alive.”

The message is simple and one we’ve all heard before. Huge monster cottages are a blight on the Muskoka waterfront and inconsiderate powerboat drivers are ruining the peacefulness of our lakes. But the real story here is the imminent sale of a piece of Muskoka, which until now has remained largely undeveloped, and what the future holds for it.

Cliff Island is a well-known haven in in a sea of development on Lake Joseph. The channels around the island are sought out by sightseers and wakeboarders alike for their calm waters and uninhabited, natural appearance.

Three members of the Forman family own the island, but the one with the largest share, Robert Forman, lives in Idaho and has no interest in Muskoka. Although he has not made his intentions known, it is expected by the other family members that he will sell as soon as the five-year time restriction imposed by his inheritance is up. The remaining owners do not have the means to buy him out, so the assumption is the island will have to be sold.

This documentary is a plea to Robert not to sell his family out and to any prospective buyer to appreciate what Cliff Island is to so many people and not to change it. “My wish is that the people that buy it continue to respect that and develop it accordingly,” says Lofts.

“I used to own the 100-year-old Cliff Island farm for 20 years, which is across from Cliff Island,” says Lofts. “We left because of what’s happening to it. My wife was in tears every weekend. The channel just got to be so noisy . . . and the disrespect. It got to be a nightmare. It just wasn’t worth it.”

Lofts made this movie for his friends on Cliff Island and to get people to start to think and talk about what’s happening to Muskoka. “A lot of people ask, ‘How can you stop progress?’” says Loft. “You need to change value systems, and this is my little contribution.”

If you’re in Muskoka and you’d like to see the DVD for yourself, Lofts has donated copies to both the Bracebridge and Port Carling libraries. Along with the story of Cliff Island, there is some great historic film footage of cottaging and boating in Muskoka.

For your own copy of An American in Muskoka, send $25 to Norman Lofts, 21 Munro Park Ave., Toronto, M4E 3M2. Lofts says his objective is to get the message out and not to make money. To this end, $20 from the sale of each DVD will go to charity. For more information, you can e-mail Lofts at nlofts@sympatico.ca.