WATCH NOW: "The Devil's Road: A Baja Adventure"

We are excited to announce that The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure is now available to watch.

We hope you enjoy the film, and pass it along to friends or family, or to anyone interested in Baja, natural history, adventure, or conservation.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter (@devilsroadfilm), and Instagram (@devilsroadfilm)!

ABOUT THE FILM:

In 1905, two American naturalists set out on horseback across the remote deserts of Baja California, Mexico.

Their 2,000-mile expedition was the first of its kind to span the entire peninsula and complete a comprehensive survey of Baja's flora and fauna. Zig-zagging from coast to coast across the desolate interior, Edward William Nelson and Edward Alphonso Goldman described plants and animals unknown to science.

One hundred years later, Goldman's descendants return to Baja to retrace the steps of this landmark expedition on motorcycles, and document the changing nature of this strange and beautiful landscape.

Our Run on the Festival Circuit Draws to a Close

It is with immense gratitude, joy, and elation that we come to you to share in our success of our film The Devil's Road: A Baja Adventure. It has been a long journey filled with accolades and the unfortunate side effects of the COVID pandemic. Although the pandemic hit at the height of our emerging success with the film festivals, most festivals were cancelled or were held virtually, which was less than optimal for us. Regardless, we were successful with several "Best Documentary" awards, a "Best in Show" award, a "Best Director" award, and a number of official selections in many festivals both national and international.

Our success is due, in part, to the input, direction, and assistance of our sponsors, contributors, and supporters, and we cannot thank you enough. It has been amazing to have the chance to present the works of Nelson and Goldman and the issues surrounding the Baja Peninsula.

Our run on the film festival circuit draws to a close with our last screening at Overland Expo East. The time has come to find a permanent home for the film.

We are now offering the film to be viewed, free of charge, on YouTube. Here's a link to the full movie: https://youtu.be/Jueqf0gXODw.

Enjoy it, share it with friends and colleagues, and pass it along to anyone interested.

We are still passionate about Baja California and its natural resources and equally committed to the work of Nelson and Goldman and wish to continue to advocate as such.

Sincerely,  

The Broken Wagon Film Team:

JT Bruce, Director
Todd Bruce, Producer
Bri Bruce, Associate Producer and Marketing Manager
Greg Meyer, Scientific Director

The Devil's Road Selected as a Finalist in the jellyFEST Film Festival

The Devil’s Road has been selected as a Finalist in the fifth season of jellyFEST Film Festival

Once a year, the jellyFEST celebrates original storytellers and audiences. Their biannual program includes live action, animation and documentary short and feature films showcasing emerging new voices and fresh perspectives.

Learn more at https://www.thejellyfest.com/

The Devil's Road Wins Honorable Mention in the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival

The Devil's Road Wins Honorable Mention in the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival

AIMAFF has a monthly format to showcase and award more films in a shorter amount of time, leading to immediate award and selection notifications. Each month different creators submit their films. At the end of the year, the 12 monthly winners compete for the annual award of BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR.

The Devil's Road Wins Best in Show, Best Documentary and Best Director in Chico Indie Film Fest

We’re thrilled to announce that The Devil’s Road has won Best in Show, Best Documentary, and Best Director at the Chico Independent Film Festival this past weekend!

This is the fourth festival win for the the film.

The Devil's Road Chosen As Official Selection in the Big Bear Film Summit 2020

BROKEN WAGON FILMS IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE DEVIL’S ROAD HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE BIG BEAR FILM SUMMIT 2020

The Devil’s Road is set to screen virtually as part of the U.S. Documentary Feature Competition from June 12 to July 12, 2020.

Learn more about the festival here: https://bigbearfilmsummit.com/

Adventures of an Amateur Naturalist in Mexico: The Imperial Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Revisited (NOW AVAILABLE)

Front cover of the newly released booklet authored in part by The Devil’s Road producer Todd Bruce

Adventures of an Amateur Naturalist in Mexico: The Imperial Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Revisited

BY TODD BRUCE AND GEORGE B. WINTON

Buried deep within the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, a never-before-seen document was discovered by a team of film producers conducting research. This eight-page manuscript details the account of amateur naturalist and journalist George B. Winton, on expedition in the remote mountain ranges of Mexico’s interior.

Edward William Nelson and Edward Alphonso Goldman, two of America’s greatest naturalists, were dispatched to Mexico in January of 1892 under the employ of the U. S. Biological Survey. The pair’s assignment was to better understand this remote region of North America, providing studies on its flora and fauna and their corresponding geographical distribution. The findings of these field surveys were unprecedented, and would later be foundational to a conservation movement that helped solidify the work of conservationists like John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gifford Pinchot.

In October of 1892, Nelson and Goldman made a particularly important stop in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, where they were joined by George B. Winton for an expedition into the Nahuatzen mountain range. It was on this collecting trip that the group came across, for the first time, several individuals of the world’s largest woodpecker: the imperial ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis).

Winton’s written account excellently portrays the mindset of the naturalist in the late nineteenth century, and provides a rare, detailed record of the sighting and the behavior of this fascinating and relatively unknown bird.

Paperback: 28 pages
Publisher: Black Swift Press (September 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0991450398
Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.1 x 10 inches

A Look at ‘The Devil’s Road Experience’ at the California Academy of Sciences

The Devil’s Road production team at the booth at the California Acadey of Sciences.

Last week, the production team and contributing scientists behind The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure were invited to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco as the featured guests of the August 29th Desert NightLife event.  

Attendees sipped craft cocktails, grooved to some music, and paid a visit to The Devil’s Road booth beside the iconic Rainforest Dome.

Amid the Academy’s regularly scheduled programs, NightLifers caught a glimpse into Baja’s past through the retelling of an unprecedented adventure at the turn of the century—and our quest to recreate it.

Visitors took a peek at historic photographs from the original 1905-1906 expedition, along with bird and rodent specimens, collected by Nelson and Goldman and housed in the Academy’s archives, on display at the booth. The specimens included a species of cormorant, acorn woodpecker, warbler, and pocket mouse. With incredible preservation methods clear, some specimens dated back to the late 1870s.

Many mutual adorations for Baja were shared, as well as stories of adventures along the peninsula by travelers and scientists alike.

Later in the evening in Africa Hall, all seats were occupied for the anticipated panel discussion, part of The Devil’s Road Experience.

On the panel were JT Bruce, Devil’s Road Director, Greg Meyer, Devil’s Road Scientific Advisor, Moe Flannery, Ornithology and Mammology Collection Manager, and Shannon Bennet, CalAcademy Chief of Science, to speak to the film and its many themes, the collection of species, and conservation in Baja and the world at large.

Interspersed with short segments from the film and a longer sneak peek of the film’s first ten minutes. The discussion ended with a moving Q&A that offered a behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process and attendees inquired as to how they can become involved in the protection of Baja’s ecosystems

Real stories like the many weaving throughout The Devil’s Road are vital in gaining public support to protect Earth’s ecosystems. It’s crucial to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Please consider supporting our project by making a donation.

The Devil’s Road booth just outside the Rainforest Dome at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Standing room only in Africa Hall for the panel discussion.

Filmmakers of The Devil’s Road Set to be Featured Guests of the California Academy of Sciences’ Desert NightLife

The filmmakers behind The Devil’s Road will be featured guests of the California Academy of Science’s August 29th “Desert” NightLife event.

The evening will feature music, cocktails, and intrigue, as well as give attendees a sneak peek of the feature-length documentary The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure, in addition to an exciting panel discussion with the filmmakers and scientists behind the film.

The filmmakers embarked on a 5,000-mile journey across Baja California to recreate the century-old expedition of two of the region’s most prolific—and obscure—naturalists. The film gives viewers an up-close and personal account of the history, culture, and biodiversity of Baja California.

Based in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution dedicated to exploring, explaining, and sustaining life on Earth. The Academy is home to a world-class aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum—all under one living roof.

The event will also highlight a history on the Mexican agave-based spirit mezcal and will have on display unique specimens of desert climates from the scientific research collections.

Desert NightLife will begin at 6:00pm. The Devil's Road Experience screening and panel discussion starts at 8pm in Africa Hall.

To learn more about the event or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.calacademy.org/nightlife/desert-nightlife

On "The Devil’s Road"

Four Santa Cruz filmmakers set out to bring a historic expedition out of obscurity. The result was a feature-length historical-nature-adventure documentary called The Devil’s Road.

The Devil’s Road is a culmination of research, exploration, filming, and post-production work to revive the pivotal work of two of America’s most prolific naturalists: Edward William Nelson and Edward Alphonso Goldman. While these are not household names, their research laid the foundation of scientific studies in Baja and were viewed as a link between Darwin and present-day scientists. 

Nelson and Goldman’s landmark expedition in 1905-1906 was unprecedented and completed in a time when the Baja Peninsula was considered one of the most remote and challenging areas in all of North America. They documented, cataloged, and obtained specimens of never-before-studied flora and fauna, all while trekking over two thousand miles on horseback.  The pair made a number of significant scientific contributions to Baja’s natural history, and their expedition was the most thorough and complete studies of Baja’s ecosystems. They would later spend their careers heralded as some of the most adept naturalists of their time, with hundreds of plants, animals, and geographical features named in their honor.

It wasn’t just the early achievements of these two famed naturalists—though undeniably obscure outside of academic circles—that motivated the film crew. “It was only recently that, coincidentally enough, we learned our ‘Uncle Ed’ was the famed naturalist Edward Alphonso Goldman that worked with Edward William Nelson to explore the Baja Peninsula. I have been traveling around Baja with my family since 1990. We had no idea we had much deeper roots there,” explains Todd Bruce, the producer of The Devil’s Road, and the great grandnephew of Edward Goldman. “Baja has captivated us over the years. Nelson and Goldman’s accomplishments, coupled with our familial connection to this unique place, were driving forces behind creating the film.”

The team made a trip to the nation’s capital to pour through documents and glass plate negative photographs in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. With latex gloves, they sifted through letters between President Theodore Roosevelt and Nelson, read field notes written over a hundred years ago by Goldman, and inspected century-old photo albums and specimens collected by the pair during their expedition. The film crew was also invited by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco to film archived specimens of mammals and birds collected by Nelson and Goldman during their time in Baja.

The film's director, JT Bruce, and producer then set out on an expedition of their own, spending two months and covering over 5,000 miles of Baja desert and coastline to retrace Nelson and Goldman’s original expedition route on motorcycles. 

The film documents their thrilling quest—by motorcycle, airplane, boat, and horseback—across the Baja Peninsula where, along the way, they observe the vibrant culture and unforgettable people, and endure the challenges of the road. The film includes interviews with biologists and conservationists that provide a reminder of how grueling the original expedition was and why Nelson and Goldman’s work was so fundamental, as well as offer insight into the precarious future of the fragile ecosystems of Baja—and beyond.

“Much like our predecessor that inspired the film, knowing Baja on a more intimate level makes it incumbent upon us to be stewards of such a unique corner of the world. By sharing it with viewers we hope to help make a case for its conservation,” says Bri Bruce, the film’s associate producer and UC Santa Cruz alumni. “Baja is truly a magical place. There’s really no other way to describe it. I think I speak for anyone that has been fortunate enough to really witness it—stand in its deserts, swim in its oceans, get to know both the animals and the people there—they’ll see it’s worth fighting for.”

“Baja is a biodiversity hotspot,” explains The Devil’s Road Scientific Advisor Greg Meyer. Meyer is an educator at California State University, Monterey Bay, and a professional naturalist who led his first trip to Baja in 1985. He has traveled extensively throughout the peninsula, working for the Oceanic Society, Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic Expeditions, and the BBC. “The Baja Peninsula is still one of the great wildernesses on earth and this film project has allowed us to see the changes over time and to highlight why it needs protection today.”

JT Bruce, the film’s director, expands on the themes of The Devil’s Road:

“Our film is not just a historical documentary or motorcycle road movie. It's not a reprimand on the audience for some perceived failure to protect the environment. It's a chance to gain a wider perspective and view the trajectory that our planet's ecosystems are on, and to help people make their own decisions about how we should approach the future.” 

The film shows a complex interplay between past and present, and weaves together themes of discovery and change while serving as an environmental call to arms that pays homage to the strange and awe-inspiring Baja California. In an exciting mix of history, nature, and exhilarating adventure, The Devil’s Road is sure to entertain, educate, and inspire.