ABOUT
A few years ago, I went on a 3-day solo wilderness quest in the high desert mountains (no tent, no tech, only a tarp). Just me and nature. I wanted to reconnect to myself and the world around me.
For weeks before the trip, I tried to make sure I was prepared to survive the elements. I got solid hiking boots and a hat to protect myself from the sun, I studied plants that might be in the area that might be poisonous.
But what I was most nervous about was the wildlife I might encounter. What would I do if I saw a coyote, a mountain lion, a snake...a bear?
I read a guidebook to prepare myself, and felt moderately confident in what I would do in most scenarios. But what never crossed my mind, what I never even thought to prepare myself for, was encountering another human while I was alone...especially a man.
Two days into my time alone in the desert, a black truck parked a mile away facing me. I saw them, whoever they were, and I know they saw me. I was wearing the bright red fleece I had perfectly chosen in case I needed to be spotted in case of some sort of emergency.
But now in this situation, the red fleece made me feel like a sitting duck. I was alone for miles, and the visibility was 100%. I tore off the fleece and crouched behind a big rock. What if there was a man in the truck? Or two? What if they came over and asked if I was hiking alone? What would I do? What would I say? Where would I go?
I shook with fear for about 40 minutes, playing out every ‘what if’ scenario in my head… until the truck finally, finally drove away.
I thought about that experience a lot afterwards. Why was I so terrified of encountering a man? And should I have been? Was any possible ill-intent just in my own head? Was it a real fear to have? And why had I not thought to prepare myself for that scenario? And what would that "preparation" even have meant? But really...why had I been so scared?
I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I decided to explore my fears, and I wrote a feature film called "Black Creek Trail" playing out the "What Ifs" of my solo trip.
And then a couple years later, I got tired of waiting to make it into a feature, so we shot a short film as a proof of concept.
And now, we're here in this conversation of Man Vs. Bear, and I can't help but think how relevant this project is. Now more than ever I want to make this into a feature film because it's a conversation that resonates with so many people, as we discovered on our festival run, in our social media postings, and in all the personal feedback we've received since releasing the short; this project touches an undeniable nerve.
So take a look at our trailer and short film and tell us... would you choose Man or Bear?
-Jaime