Bicycle Touring Movie @ Canadian Sport Film Fest Toronto

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/4163488

"The Cross Canada Project", a film by Windsor Ontario native Mike Beauchamp, will be screening October 3rd at the 2009 Canadian Sport Film Festival in Toronto. In 2005, Mike Beauchamp rode his bicycle from Vancouver, British Columbia over 7000KM across Canada to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In addition to carrying all of his gear over the course of 110 days, Mike also carried a weatherproof bicycle-mounted camera system that he constructed, enabling him to capture what he calls "a unique perspective of Canada that can only be seen by bicycle".

The film includes beautiful British Columbia scenery, a tour of an abandoned home in Saskatchewan, a near bear experience in Ontario, and a meeting with an airplane crash survivor in Quebec. The film also features an original soundtrack recorded by Beauchamp himself.

"I went through a lot of shit during that ride, both physical and mental. It's stuff that a lot of people don't write about in travel blogs, and I'm really proud to have made a film that shows some of the highs and lows that so many other people have gone through."

Beauchamp's hour-long independent film, recently released under his own Circle (Not Oval) production label, is already receiving positive reviews and inspiring others to attempt similar journeys.

"It's been amazing, getting emails and pictures from people doing the exact same ride, claiming I inspired them to do it. I'm just happy people are out of the house, really."

As a life-long bicycle advocate that doesn't even have a Driver's licence, Beauchamp is very happy that his movie has inspired others to get outside and ride.

"I'm sure everyone has moments in their life where things really changed for them. This ride, and ultimately the final film, was definitely that moment for me."

The second annual Canadian Sport Film Festival focuses on sports related films from all around the world and takes place October 2nd and 3rd in Toronto. "The Cross Canada Project" will be playing on Saturday October 3rd at Innis Town Hall along with "Punch Like a Girl", a film about women discovering the limits of their physical and emotional strength by throwing themselves into the raw, male sport of boxing. Screening time is 1:30PM and tickets are $10. If you cannot make it to the screening, DVD's of Beauchamp's movie can be purchased for $20 from his website at http://mikebeauchamp.com/crosscanada. The price includes shipping, but it may take a while since Beauchamp is currently living in Wellington, New Zealand. The screening is presented in partnership with the National Film Board of Canada Mediatheque (http://www.sportfilmfestival.ca/www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/mediatheque/) and
sponsored by Urbane Cyclist (http://www.ucycle.com/). The entire festival schedule can be found at http://www.sportfilmfestival.ca/?p=210.