Friends film documentary in memory of Lynn drowning victim

LYNN – More than 40 friends of recent drowning victim Salim Fort gathered at Breeds Pond off Glen Avenue this week to help LynnCamTV’s Brittany Gorski put together a mini-documentary dedicated to their dearly missed friend.The kids appeared on camera in groups or individually to tell their favorite memories of Fort, offering prayers and advice on how to cope with his death and reminding viewers how important water safety really is.Fort, 15, an inexperienced swimmer, drowned just after 6 p.m. on July 27 while cooling off with his friends at Breeds Pond. His wake will be held this afternoon from 3-8 p.m. in the Solimine, Landergan and Richardson Funeral Home at 67 Ocean St. His funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Zion Baptist Church, followed by burial in Pine Grove Cemetery.Gorski says she decided to make the video for her younger cousins, DJ White and Charlie Park, who knew Fort very well. White and Park contacted friends of Fort through Facebook, telling them to meet at the popular hangout near the pond to talk about their friend on camera.”I didn’t need to give them that much direction,” Gorski said. “I told them I would ask them questions if they needed it, but they pretty much went with it.”Some just came for support. “There were a lot of kids who couldn’t bring themselves to say anything,” Gorski said.Others found the courage to take the microphone, like Dan Anastos, who witnessed the tragedy and spoke in great detail about how he tried to save his friend. “I kept telling him, ‘Salim, you have to kick your feet,'” said Anastos. “I tried to dive under and grab him – we skimmed hands. Then I jumped out and called 911.”Vanessa March, a friend of Salim’s, said he was the reason she went to school every day. “Stay strong and smile, because he’s always watching us smile,” she said.In between takes, the participants, all high school students, spoke among each other deciding what to wear to the wake and funeral, and where to get their tattoos in memoriam of Fort. Many of them wore T-shirts that said, “RIP, Salim Fort” or “Salim the Dream.”At one point, all the kids, including Gorski, gathered in front of the camera to shout, “Rest in peace, Salim! We love you!”Clips of the television news coverage of Fort’s death will also be included in the documentary. It will be presented in its entirety at Fort’s wake and DVDs will be sold to fund an athletic scholarship in his name.