Desert Runners

Smush Media in association with Salty Features & Spoken Media presents DESERT RUNNERS Directed, Produced & Edited by Jennifer Steinman Produced by Diana Iles Parker & Yael Melamede For further information please contact: [email protected] +1.415.225.8121 www.desertrunnersmovie.com Logline A diverse cast of non-professional runners attempt to complete the most difficult ultramarathon race series on Earth. Their dramatic journey takes them across the World’s most picturesque yet brutal landscapes, pushing their bodies, hearts and spirits through a myriad of external and internal obstacles. DESERT RUNNERS delves into the mindset of ultra-athletes, and the complex ways in which human beings deal with both heartbreak and triumph. Synopsis Imagine you’ve been dropped off in the middle of one of the largest, driest deserts in the World. Over the next six days you will have to run, jog, walk or crawl 155 miles through the incessant heat (up to 120 degrees), across soft sand and hard-packed gravel, over sand dunes multiple stories high and down razor-sharp rocky cliffs. You must do this carrying everything you need to survive -- clothes, food, emergency medical supplies, sleeping bag -- in a 20-pound pack on your back. Now imagine doing this not just once, but four times in one year, through the four most treacherous deserts in the world: the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara in Egypt… and then, the final stage, a grueling footrace across the single most inhospitable landscape in the world: Antarctica. The first man to ever successfully complete the 4 Desert Series “Grand Slam” was world- famous “Ultramarathon Man,” Dean Karnazes. But this year, the brave competitors you will meet are not professional athletes at all-- they’re ordinary people like you and me who have decided, for a variety of personal reasons, to take on this extreme physical challenge. Ricky, is an ex-professional baseball player from the United States. He is naturally athletic and experienced, but this time Mother Nature — and his own body — might prove to be his most formidable opponents yet. Samantha is an over-committed, over-organized law student from Australia. She dreams of being the first woman and the youngest competitor ever to finish the “Grand Slam.” But unexpected events amidst the chaotic nature of the desert challenge her ability to control life’s circumstances. Dave is an ageing Irish Businessman, who’s young at heart and usually able to “pull anything off.” Now, in the middle of the desert, he must ask himself a painful, personal question: does getting older really change what you are capable of? And Tremaine, a British bodyguard who’s been trained to kill, has come to run these deserts in honor of his wife, who died less than a year ago leaving him alone with two www.desertrunnersmovie.com young children. As he attempts to redefine his life, he can’t help but wonder if being pushed to the physical extremes will break him down completely… or heal him? “Desert Runners” delves deep into the psychology of these ultramarathon athletes, revealing the mindset necessary for human beings to succeed at the “impossible.” Not everyone will finish. People get hurt, tragedy strikes, unexpected events take place. But the runners push through these immense challenges, embracing the pain and its inherent lessons. Ultimately, they celebrate the emotional victory of crossing the finish line, forever changed from the inside out. Director’s Statement In October of 2009, I went to a conference on health & nutrition where one of the guest speakers was a wonderful, wacky Irish guy named Dave O’Brien. At this conference, Dave announced to the audience that at the age of 56 he had decided that he was going to attempt to run the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series—one of the most difficult endurance challenges in the world. Just one week earlier, I had been at the hospital with my mother, who had been very ill for several months. Dave was not much younger than my mother, and yet my mom didn’t think she could even walk around the block. What made this guy think he could run 1000km through the desert? I became immediately interested in this difference in perceived limitations that human beings seem to have— how can one person think something is totally possible, when most others would perceive it as “impossible?” And are our perceived limitations actually real, or just something that we arbitrarily decide for ourselves? I went straight up to Dave after the conference ended and asked him if he had considered filming his experience. Two months later, I was in Ireland with a cameraman filming him training, and shortly thereafter we were in the Atacama Desert—it was the beginning of a crazy, year-long adventure that would take us to all 7 continents, and introduce us to an amazing group of people who are the cast of “Desert Runners.” I was initially drawn to this story because I am interested in the complex ways human beings deal with universal issues-- taking on goals, pushing through barriers, making hard decisions, building friendships, failure, success, heartbreak, triumph—all of these are present in Desert Runners. I am not a runner myself, but I am fascinated by the mindset of these athletes and what it takes to complete a herculean challenge like this one. Out in the Desert all barriers are stripped away and people are at their most honest, authentic, vulnerable. It is brutal and it is beautiful all at the same time. What I learned out there is that ultimately, whether one finishes or not has very little to do with fitness. The only difference between the people who finished and the people who didn’t finish was a certain mental determination. Their unwavering belief and commitment to themselves carried those people through extreme pain and every single www.desertrunnersmovie.com struggle they faced, until they reached the finish line. I was humbled by their tenacity, and the lessons are applicable to so many things in life—ultimately, it is about so much more than just running. About The Filmmakers Jennifer Steinman Director, Producer, Editor Co-Founder of the film production company SMUSH MEDIA, Jennifer Steinman has over 18 years of experience in television and filmmaking. She began her career as a staff Editor at CBS, both in New York and San Francisco. Her work has aired nationally on PBS, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Sundance Channel, and many other television networks. Her films have been accepted into many major film festivals including SXSW, Rotterdam, and Sundance. Steinman won a Telly Award and has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing. Most recently, Steinman directed, produced and edited the feature-length documentary film MOTHERLAND, which had its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, winning the prestigious Emerging Visions Audience Award. The film went on to win several other best-of-festival awards and was released by Vanguard Cinema. Yael Melamede Producer Yael Melamede is a co-founder of SALTY Features – an independent media production company based in NYC. Melamede’s producer credits include award winning fiction and documentary films that have played around the world. She has worked with influential and respected filmmakers such as Paul Schrader, Wayne Wang and Paul Auster, to name just a few. Melamede's most recent film INOCENTE won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Upcoming films include MARTYRS' CROSSING, based on the bestselling novel by Amy Wilentz; and SLIPPERY SLOPES, based on the work of acclaimed author and behavioral economist Dan Ariely. Melamede trained as an architect before becoming a filmmaker. www.desertrunnersmovie.com Diana Iles Parker Producer Diana Iles Parker is the founder of Spoken Media, a documentary film marketing outreach company and has been involved in the success of a diverse slate of important doc films, most recently James Redford’s THE BIG PICTURE: RETHINKING DSYLEXIA (HBO, 2012) and Robert Redford’s WATERSHED, about the declining Colorado River and what can be done to reconnect the river to the sea. Other film projects include TOXIC HOT SEAT, SOMETHING VENTURED, CENTRAL PARK EFFECT, MINE, MOTHERLAND and BEIJING TAXI. In addition to films, Iles Parker is a Partner at SpeakingPhoto, a unique storytelling photo app that allows people to add sound to their photos. She lives in Mill Valley, California with her husband and two sons. Dean Karnazes Executive Producer TIME magazine named Dean Karnazes as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World." Men's Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet. An internationally recognized endurance athlete and bestselling author, Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. In 2008, Karnazes became the first person on Earth to complete the 4 Deserts “Grand Slam.” Among his many other accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120 degree temperatures, and he's run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. He ran 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days. And in 2011, he ran more than 3000 miles across America—the equivalent of 40-50 miles per day for 75 consecutive days. www.desertrunnersmovie.com Sevan Matossian Director of Photography Sevan Matossian has filmed and produced for TLC, Discovery & History Channel and produced, directed and edited three very successful shows for ESPN (which have re-aired more than 100 times). He has made commercials, promotional pieces and four feature-length documentaries. He has filmed in over 45 countries and in some of the most isolated and diverse corners of the globe.

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