Film Info109 minutes
Fin & Fur Films, Cedar Creek Productions, Implement Productions Available for Free AND Ticketed events Synopsis: 3000 miles, 16 horses, 4 men, 1 goal: to complete a 5-month journey that proves the value of people, wild horses, and the undeveloped environment. "Unbranded" follows four young men as they take on a monumental challenge to ride horses from Mexico to Canada through the American West. Recently graduated from college, the four young men delay their “responsible “ adult lives for the adventure of a lifetime. They travel on horseback through our majestic public lands, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and Glacier Park. For their trail horses, the riders choose wild mustangs. This tough breed is perfect for the "Unbranded" team. The riders also hope to draw attention to the threats facing these horses because of decreased public lands and uncontrolled development. The young men and horses overcome natural and human-made challenges on the trail and prove their mutual strength and resilience. Action Items
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Filmmaker Q & A
What inspired you to make this film?
Dennis: “The film was primarily the inspiration of Ben Masters. He organized and rode on the 3,0000-mile journey to bring attention to both the wild mustang issues and the wild lands debates. Ben asked director Phillip Baribeau to direct a documentary about the ride and then Phill asked me to produce it. He explained the project, and, literally it took only five minutes for me to say “Yes.” The importance of the purpose and the epic nature of the trip were clear from the very beginning. I wanted to be a part of them.”
Were there any particularly meaningful moments or experiences in the process?
Dennis: “There were far too many to relate here. The trip took over five months and there were many risks throughout it. Post production lasted one year. A few of the meaningful moments were the trek through the Grand Canyon, the horse runaways, and the teamwork of both the riders and filmmakers that made the project possible. Definitely one of the most meaningful moments was when we showed an almost final cut to a test audience and they loved it. We knew that we had achieved what we had set out to do almost two years earlier.”
Describe some of the challenges
Dennis: “We received a special permit from the U.S. Forest Service that made the legal aspects easier but limited our crew size to no more than two filmmakers at any one time. Most of the film was shot by either Phillip Baribeau or co-DP Korey Kaczmarek either together or by themselves. There was no accompanying support team with gear. We had to devise systems to recharge batteries, download visual data, supply the riders, and also keep within a very tight budget. Communications were often difficult, since this was primarily a a backcountry ride and cellphone or satphone service was often not available. Maintaining the health of the horses and the riders was a paramount concern. As the film illustrated, often the best route was unavailable because of private land restrictions and the riders had to choose much riskier alternatives. I often compared the situation to a manned space flight, with the riders as our astronauts and the film team back in Bozeman as Mission Control. In post, we had 500 hours of data and we had to figure out how to interweave our adventure, conservation, and endangered horse stories into a compelling narrative along with the personal stories of the riders and the people who helped them, such as Val. We wanted to include humor as well as the strengths and flaws of everyone involved. Editor Scott Chestnut repeatedly found narrative strategies that allowed us to achieve these goals.”
What are you working on now?
Dennis: “I am now working with Phillip Baribeau on CHARGED, a feature documentary about chef Eduardo Garcia and the challenges he faced after a horrific accident in the backcountry. Like UNBRANDED , this film also will be working with several narrative streams related to Eduardo’s life and experiences.”
Anything else you would like people to know?
Dennis: “Unbranded is truly a phenomenon that has touched millions of people throughout the world. I am proud and grateful to have worked with Phill, Ben, Korey, Scott and the rest of the Unbranded team in overcoming our challenges and producing the film that is now shown throughout the world. Films like these are both a cause and an obsession and that is how they are completed. As Val had us say to ourselves a number of times when things were tough, “There ain’t nothing we can’t do and damn little we won’t try.” And that’s how we made the movie.”
Dennis: “The film was primarily the inspiration of Ben Masters. He organized and rode on the 3,0000-mile journey to bring attention to both the wild mustang issues and the wild lands debates. Ben asked director Phillip Baribeau to direct a documentary about the ride and then Phill asked me to produce it. He explained the project, and, literally it took only five minutes for me to say “Yes.” The importance of the purpose and the epic nature of the trip were clear from the very beginning. I wanted to be a part of them.”
Were there any particularly meaningful moments or experiences in the process?
Dennis: “There were far too many to relate here. The trip took over five months and there were many risks throughout it. Post production lasted one year. A few of the meaningful moments were the trek through the Grand Canyon, the horse runaways, and the teamwork of both the riders and filmmakers that made the project possible. Definitely one of the most meaningful moments was when we showed an almost final cut to a test audience and they loved it. We knew that we had achieved what we had set out to do almost two years earlier.”
Describe some of the challenges
Dennis: “We received a special permit from the U.S. Forest Service that made the legal aspects easier but limited our crew size to no more than two filmmakers at any one time. Most of the film was shot by either Phillip Baribeau or co-DP Korey Kaczmarek either together or by themselves. There was no accompanying support team with gear. We had to devise systems to recharge batteries, download visual data, supply the riders, and also keep within a very tight budget. Communications were often difficult, since this was primarily a a backcountry ride and cellphone or satphone service was often not available. Maintaining the health of the horses and the riders was a paramount concern. As the film illustrated, often the best route was unavailable because of private land restrictions and the riders had to choose much riskier alternatives. I often compared the situation to a manned space flight, with the riders as our astronauts and the film team back in Bozeman as Mission Control. In post, we had 500 hours of data and we had to figure out how to interweave our adventure, conservation, and endangered horse stories into a compelling narrative along with the personal stories of the riders and the people who helped them, such as Val. We wanted to include humor as well as the strengths and flaws of everyone involved. Editor Scott Chestnut repeatedly found narrative strategies that allowed us to achieve these goals.”
What are you working on now?
Dennis: “I am now working with Phillip Baribeau on CHARGED, a feature documentary about chef Eduardo Garcia and the challenges he faced after a horrific accident in the backcountry. Like UNBRANDED , this film also will be working with several narrative streams related to Eduardo’s life and experiences.”
Anything else you would like people to know?
Dennis: “Unbranded is truly a phenomenon that has touched millions of people throughout the world. I am proud and grateful to have worked with Phill, Ben, Korey, Scott and the rest of the Unbranded team in overcoming our challenges and producing the film that is now shown throughout the world. Films like these are both a cause and an obsession and that is how they are completed. As Val had us say to ourselves a number of times when things were tough, “There ain’t nothing we can’t do and damn little we won’t try.” And that’s how we made the movie.”
