adventure

From Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg to the family cottage near Parry Sound in Ontario, filmmaker Frank Wolf and his inexperienced friend Taku Hokoyama tackle raging rapids and gruelling portages on a 3,100 km canoe trip through Canada's remote boreal forest in an effort to shed light on the issues now facing this vast wilderness. This is not a typical nature documentary, however. Our amiable guides cope with bears, black flies and flat tires in order to educate and entertain us over the course of their 75-day adventure. The landscape is stunning and the guides couldn't be more entertaining.

Departing the arctic capital of Yellowknife with 40 days of food loaded into their canoe, Frank Wolf and Taku Hokoyama strike out on a 2,000 km journey through the largest wilderness area in North America. The region contains one of the highest concentrations of land mammals on earth and the pair encounter arctic wolves, the caribou migration, musk ox and- most importantly- make the first ever recording of a rare and elusive creature not previously thought to exist in northern Canada. With a sense of humour and purpose, they track down politicians, First Nation chiefs, elders and others living in the few communities that frame the wilderness in order to present a clear picture of the area and the issues that face the land and its people.

The Himalayan Mountains are one of the most remote and seldom visited regions of the world. It is a land of great spiritual strength for the few who call it home and the even fewer that travel there to find that strength within themselves. That inner search is precisely what drove us, a team of four friends, and adventurers to take on a 25 day, 295 mile trek through some of the highest and oldest passes of the Indian Himalayas. However, we aren’t doing this documentary for adventure’s sake alone – we want to tell a story. Times are changing, and as the need for more wealth and infrastructure increases within India as a whole, the simplicity and beauty of everyday life for the locals of Ladakh consequently fades along with it. Recently, plans to pave a large road through some of the most remote areas of this region have been set to action. Slow degradation of the natural environment and damage to the cultural integrity of these societies are amongst the many risks we see resulting from the development now occurring within Ladakh. We, along with our guide/translator will be traveling to these old Buddhist villages to gauge the opinions of the peoples bound to be most affected. Our aim is to capture this entire journey on film. On one end, it is the struggles and obstacles of four friends trying to bring some semblance of meaning into their technology-laden disenchanted lives, and on the other end, it is the awe-inspiring beauty of a remote region currently being threatened by the ravages of globalization. And in telling our story, we are hoping to bring some more clarity to this issue. The conclusion to this documentary is indeed an open ended question, and that’s precisely the beauty of venturing into the wide unknown with open minds and open hearts. *OUR FILM IS LOOKING FOR HELP (FUNDING)* PLEASE CHECK THIS LINK > http://www.gofundme.com/25toleh

A story about the power of one! A Canadian trucker and his blind dog set out on an adventure in an 18-wheeler on a relief mission to the Katrina-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast, to do what the government says ‘can’t be done’. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina dealt a vicious blow to the US Gulf Coast, Peter Bruno decided that it was finally time that to help those in need. He rallied Ontario residents and set out for the south with a load of donations. To everyone’s surprise, Pete was the first long haul trucker to arrive at the relief center in Long Beach, Mississippi – just seven days after the storm. In addition to getting one determined truck driver’s views on life, it’s a story about everyday people trying to make a difference in the aftermath of the humbling force of Hurricane Katrina. Peter’s story is one of inspiration and persistence. Like most heroes, he is humble about his deeds, yet he is the conduit for others’ generosity. His act of kindness set the stage for a relief camp in southern Mississippi which extends helping hands to Katrina victims.