We are so pleased to announce that The Devil’s Road has won Best Travel Documentary in the 5th Golden Gate International Film Festival!
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The Devil’s Road director JT Bruce sits down (virtually) with Glendale International Film Festival’s Justin Smith to talk Baja California, documentary filmmaking, and all things The Devil’s Road.
The Devil’s Road will be showing in person at the Red Rock Film Festival in St. George, Utah!
November 12, 2020, 7:45 - 9:25 PM MST
Center for the Arts at Kayenta — Theater881 Coyote Gulch Ct, Ivins, UT 84738
PURCHASE TICKETS:
https://redrockfilmfestival.eventive.org/films/the-devil-s-road-a-baja-adventure-5f71cd4fbc0fd2005233048c
Catch The Devil's Road at the virtual Glendale International Film Festival, October 15-21!
Tickets are on sale now at https://www.seedandspark.com/festivals/glendale-international
THE DEVIL’S ROAD: A BAJA ADVENTURE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED IN THE GLENDALE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2020
OCTOBER 15 – 21, 2020
Learn more about the festival here: https://www.glendaleinternationalfilmfestival.com/
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/
We are saddened to inform you that due to the recent concerns involving the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival has been cancelled.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused to any travel arrangements you may have made to join us in taking part of this festival.
As we navigate through this challenge, we hope to have other opportunities to showcase the film and will keep you up to date as showings transpire.
Thank you for your continued support.
Broken Wagon Films is pleased to announce that The Devil’s Road has been chosen as an Official Selection of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, March 17-22nd, 2020 for six days of film, wine, and fun on the cinematic Central Coast.
The Devil’s Road is set to screen at Downtown Cinemas, 888 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo, California, at the following dates and times:
Thursday, March 19 at 4:30pm
Saturday, March 21 at 10:00am
Sunday, March 22 at 3:00pm
Learn more about The Devil’s Road at SLO Film Fest at https://slofilmfest.org/the-devils-road-a-baja-adventure/
Come join the Broken Wagon Films crew at the San Diego Natural History Museum and watch our feature documentary The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure.
We’ll be screening the film in its entirety at The Nat’s "giant-screen theater" as part of Nat Talks in historic Balboa Park, joined by some of the scientists and conservationists who helped make this film a possibility.
The screening will take place on March 10th, 2020, at 6:30PM. Museum doors open at 5:30 PM. Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase at the Flying Squirrel Café before the film. After the showing, stick around for an audience Q&A with the filmmakers. This event is open to the public, so feel free to invite family and friends!
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.