500 DAYS IN THE WILD A film about the longest trail in the world

500 Days in the Wild is an independent feature documentary about filmmaker Dianne Whelan’s attempt to travel the longest trail in the world to search for lost wisdom.

From pushing 150-pounds of bike and packs over rocks, to hiking through flooded bogs, paddling the largest lake in the world, snowshoeing through dense coniferous forests, skiing across wind-blown plains, the trail beckons. Dianne travels the ‘Old Way’, the slow way of the turtle, seeking wisdom from those that live close to the land, asking the questions “What have we forgotten?” “What do we need to know?”

500 Days is the continuation of an old story – the artist dropping out of society and reconnecting to nature – but it is also a new story, a realization that we will not survive traveling solo. 500 Days is symbolic of the 500 years settlers have been on this land. Each morning on the trail, Dianne smudges as she was taught by Haida healers Vern Williams and his partner Diane Chambers and honors the ancestors of this land by praying for the murdered and missing women.

This film will challenge us to revisit our past, our connection to the land and its people, to find our inclusive story that will carry us into the future.

Directed by Dianne Whelan.
Produced by Dianne Whelan, Betsy Carson

Wild

 

500 Days in the Wild is an independent film

Independent art is important, because it gives voice to the human heart. Not trying to sell you toys or clothes with product placement, just humans sharing sincere stories. If you feel called to invest in 500 Days, you can do so and get a tax credit and help keep Canada Wild.

Go to https://cpaws.org/500days/ . Your name will get added to the credit list and you will be part of the making of this film. Shine on.

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A collection of short films from 500 Days in the Wild.

www.500daysinthewild.com

"Everything we need to know we have forgotten.
This is a search for lost wisdom."

dianne whelan

Other Projects

  • bp
    THE BEACON PROJECT

    The Beacon Project is a series of multimedia creations in collaboration with Indigenous communities along The Great Trail. A companion piece to the feature documentary 500 Days in the Wild.

  • 500 Days
    500 DAYS IN THE WILD

    Feature film 500 Days in the Wild is an unfolding story that ebbs and flows between documentary and adventure film, along the longest trail in the world – the 24,000 km Great Trail (the Trans Canada Trail).

  • ThisLand_0001_this land 12
    THIS LAND

    An award winning documentary, book and interactive project by Dianne Whelan about a 2000 km journey in the High Arctic.
    Film and Interactive Produced by the NFB Film with soundtrack by Tanya Tagaq.

  • 40days
    40 DAYS AT BASECAMP

    Each spring, over eight hundred climbers attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Some make it to the top of what is considered the world’s most majestic mountain, but others are not so lucky, and in the attempt to reach the elusive summit, many more have tragically lost their lives.

  • Arctic. Ellesmere Island. 2007
    NATURA

    This collection of photos is inspired by the earth. When you listen to her, she speaks.

  • the Scream
    WAKING EVE

    This collection of b/w photographs dates to the beginning of my journey as a visual artist in the early 1990’s.