Centering around people who live life to the fullest, the documentary 10 MPH is scheduled for its World Premier on March 31 at this year’s Vail Film Festival. Producer Gannon Weeks says this unusual film tells the story of two aspiring Denver-based filmmakers and their plight to fulfill their ambitions. “Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell quit their 9-5 jobs and traveled across the country at 10 MPH on a two-wheeled Segway scooter during a wacky, one-of-a-kind road trip from Seattle to Boston,” she explains. “Along the way, they meet a wide variety of people who tell their own stories…and do that ‘thing’ they are meant to do. For Hunter and Josh, it’s filmmaking.”  

According to the press release for 10 MPH, there’s an underlying theme running throughout the story: the thing. What makes a person inspired to start the day? It’s a person’s dream, love, hobby, passion or life’s work -- from motorcycles to preserving community, whatever it is, it’s the thing you’re supposed to do. It’s what puts the spark in the eyes of the people included in this documentary as well as the excitement in their voice and the commitment in their words.

10 MPH is essentially an autobiographical documentary. It chronicles the plight of two first-time filmmakers who quit their 9-5 jobs to explore the real America and make a film. They have no money, no connections -- just a lot of hope, drive and passion for filmmaking. Hunter and Josh used to sit in adjacent office cubicles and talk about their ambition to make films and tell stories. In 2004, they quit talking and left the corporate world, launched a production company called Spinning Blue and traveled for 100 days on a Segway HT to film their 10 MPH documentary.      

Hunter, who also directed 10 MPH, was astounded “to see how many stories we came across where people really are doing those things they are truly passionate about.”  He wants viewers to leave the theater feeling the same sense of freedom and inspiration that affected him and his partner during their cross-country experience. To capture the variety of moods within the film, Hunter and Josh incorporated still photography, art and animation, and a carefully chosen soundtrack comprised entirely of independent musicians.

In addition to the 10 MPH premier at the Vail Film Festival, other debut screenings are scheduled for the East Lansing Film Festival in Michigan and the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland, Oregon.

“These festivals make it possible to share our film with three distinct regions across the country -- and that means a lot to us,” co-producer Josh declares. “The people we met along the way each day is what made 10 MPH a reality and we certainly hope to share it with as many people across the country as we can.”

For more information, visit the 10 MPH official website.