Sanibel Before the Causeway
LAST UPDATED: 18 September 2016

On April 18th, 2016 at 7:00pm at the Sanibel Community House this third film in the Pfeifer Documentary Series debuted to a full house and went on to sell out encore shows raising much needed funds for our Community House.

The feature-length film includes vintage home movie clips from the 1930s through the early 1960s, and shows Sanibel the way it was before the causeway opened in 1963.

This is the third Sanibel documentary sponsored by Pfeifer Realty Group designed to support island non-profits. Previous films “Growing Up on Sanibel” and “Seven Sanibel Artists” generated more than $25,000 in community support donations. Pfeifer Realty Group has designated the Community House as the only recipient of this film’s proceeds, because movie clips like these were often shown at the Community House on Sanibel before the Causeway.

Featuring a treasure trove of salvaged vintage movie clips from the 1930s through the 1960s, produced by 7-Time Emmy Winner David E. Carter and sponsored by Pfeifer Realty Group, this film sold out 6 events with all proceeds benefiting Sanibel's Community House. “When I first saw the old film footage, it was like traveling back in time,” Eric Pfeifer said. “Imagine, seeing cars getting on the ferry boat, the mail delivered by boat, and small planes landing at Sanibel’s airport. We hope you enjoy this film as much as we loved rescuing this footage for future generations."

SIT BACK & ENJOY WATCHING SANIBEL BEFORE THE CAUSEWAY:

The old films show aerial footage of Sanibel back then, with views of what was called “the Prairie” and “the Wetlands.” In the 1950s, Sanibel’s population was well under 400, and the films show many scenes of the island that are hard to imagine today.

Narrated by David Flory, the film also features guest commentary by six pre-causewayislanders: Mike Billheimer, Deb Gleason, Bella Kontinos, Charles LeBuff, Jim Pickens, and Bob Sabatino.

The documentary series is a collaboration between Pfeifer Realty Group and 7-time Emmy winner David E. Carter, a year-round Sanibel resident.

All proceeds from this event benefited the Sanibel Community House as they worked to reach their goal to remodel our gathering place.

Pfeifer said, “We chose the Sanibel Community House to show this film since our “unknown filmmaker” who shot these films showed them there, 50-60 years ago. We were shocked when both shows sold out so quickly! We expect that this next event will be sold out too, so I strongly recommend that people buy their tickets soon."

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