Filipe Masetti Leite's documentary premieres in Calgary
A young cowboy's epic journey 10 years in the making comes to life on the big screen for Calgary audiences starting on Canada Day.
The Long Rider is a documentary film shot by Filipe Masetti Leite with his story of adventure departing from the Calgary Stampede bound for his family's property in Brazil -- but the journey takes him beyond what he could've imagined.
"The first time I hit record on this project was over a decade ago," Leite told CTV News on Friday.
His long ride began in Calgary in 2012, when he left the Calgary Stampede grounds with his horses packed and headed south.
Leite captured about 500 hours of video, as he and three horses rode through the 12 countries between Canada, U.S.A. Central and South America over two years.
Leite is the youngest person to journey on horseback through this part of the world.
In 2020, he returned to the Calgary Stampede as the parade marshal, which he's described as an honour for a cowboy with a dream.
"Literally I feel like I have family in Calgary. I feel the Calgary Stampede is a part of my story and it feels amazing to share this film with audiences in Calgary," said Leite.
His journey to reach his family ranch in Brazil was at times lonely, even dangerous.
The Long Rider is a documentary film shot by Filipe Masetti Leite with his story of adventure departing from the Calgary Stampede bound for his family's property in Brazil -- but the journey takes him beyond what he could've imagined.
"It was fraught with speeding transport trucks and corruption at borders and nature's wrath," said the documentary film director Sean Cisterna.
Leite's journey didn't end in Brazil; he embarked on more long rides totalling more than 25,000 kilometres.
Along the way he learned more about himself, his horses, his family, and his sense of home.
The filmmakers say they wanted his global perspective to translate on screen.
"It's rooted in Canada but its so expansive and it definitely bridges the gap between north and south and Latin America," said Cisterna.
The Long Rider premieres in Calgary at the Cineplex Eau Claire with showings at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on July 1st.
The documentary will be shown in theatres around the world later this summer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.