UTOPIA PICTURES Vancouver, B.C. [email protected] www.utopiapictures.com The Pathfinders light comedy adventure STORY pompous English travel writer and a down to earth Amer ican te st car dri ver set o ut from Halifax in 1912 to be the first to drive across Canada and win the grand prize. They face seemingly insurmountable obstacles as there is no road. But by far the gre atest obstacle turns out to be each other. It’s 1912 and there is no road that connects all of Canada. A British Columbia politician thinks this is a national disgrace and offers a prize to t he first travelers to navigate the country b y car. Thomas Wilby, 45, a pompous English travel-writer takes up the challenge. He persuades the Reo Motorcar Company to supply him with a car and driver, Jack Haney, 23, a down-to-earth Amer ican mechan ical whiz. Wilby knows nothin g about automobiles, has a lousy sense of direction and significantly, doesn’t drive. But, at Halifax Harbour, Wilby demonstrates his skill at self-promotion, filling a flask with Atlantic seawater, telling the press he will upend it in the Pacific. As Wilby n eedl es the Yank , trea ting him lik e a servan t and fails to contribute anything tangible, Haney’s ardour for the adventure flags. Feuding escalates, danger too. Barriers to travel are barely surmountable. Only Jack’s ingenuity gets them through. Jack realizes he should have taken his sweetheart’s advice and never set- off. Wilby’s doubts grow too. At Lake Superior there is no road. The battered and dispirited Brit wants to quit. But both men dig deep and continue battling nature, doubts, and each other. Jack finds resources he never knew he had, and becomes a man. Wilby trudges on, shamed by Haney, but gaining respect for him. Each has their eyes on the prize, yet even when that seems to be slipping away they still display a dogged determination to complete their odyssey. When the moun tains of Briti sh Colu mbia appea r, both men briefly put away their enmity as they face life-threatening hazards. But as the goal draws close, the spoils seemingly within reach, greed raises its ugly head - suddenly it’s every man for himself. Finally, months after the journey began the pathfinders drive their car onto Kitsilano Beach. Wilby pours his flask of Atlantic seawater into the Pacific. They have blazed a new path across this country. DEVELOPMENT Final Draft. Development funding provided by Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund and BC Film. Looking for co- producers, distribution and financing. Entertainment One (eOne) is interested in Canadian and International Disttribution rights. UTOPIA BIO Producer Elvira Lount and writer, director, producer Laurence Keane are partners in Utopia Pictures, based in Vancouver, B.C. which has several feature films in development. Elvira produced the dramatic feature SAMUEL LOUNT, the story of her ancestor, a leader of the Canadian Rebellion of 1837 who was hanged for treason. The film was produced in association with the CBC and received five Genie nominations (Canadian film awards). Elvira has produced over fifty documentaries including the award winning BABY CLOCK. She is a graduate of the University of London, England (BA English, History and Philosophy) and has a background in all aspects of the media, having graduated from the Media Resources Program, Capilano College, North Vancouver. Laurence was the director, writer and executive producer of SAMUEL LOUNT and producer/writer/ editor of the sci-fi musical comedy BIG MEAT EATER, distributed by New Line Cinema in the US and Palace Pictures in the UK. BIG MEAT EATER was hailed as one of the best pictures of the year by British critics and has become an underground cult classic. It was re-released on DVD by KOCH VISION of New York. Laurence has written 16 screenplays a nd works as a story editor. He has an MFA in Film Business and Production from the University of Southern California School of Cinema in LA, a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of British Columbia, and is a graduate of the Simon Fraser University Film Workshop. He has produced, directed, written and edited several short comedies and documentaries and worked as a newspaper photographer and book editor. He began his career in the 1970s, at the NFB and the CBC. June 2014 News Utopia Pictures Ltd. www.utopiapictures.com A