The Long Rider – Canadian Film Fest 2022
March 22 to April 2, 2022
A man sets off to ride from Canada to Brazil on horseback in The Long Rider. Filipe Masetti Leite is a young Brazilian-Canadian man who grew up with a love of riding horses. One of Filipe’s dreams is to follow in the footsteps of long riders of the past, who travel a thousand miles or more on a horseback journey. Acquire his two horses Frenchie and Bruiser from ranch in Montana, Filipe sets off from Calgary on an 8000 mile, two year journey to his family’s hometown in Brazil.
The Long Rider is a documentary directed by Sean Cisterna (From the Vine) about equestrian journeyman Filipe Masetti Leite, who also acts as the film’s primary cinematographer, filming much of his horseback journey across the Americas himself. Along the way, Filipe has to torrential weather, dangers ranging from passing traffic to drug traffickers, and the difficulties of getting his horses past border crossings.
The Long Rider is more or less a travelogue of the journey of Filipe Masetti Leite, which in its entirety would see him 25,000 km, across 12 international borders, over the course of 8 years. However, the film also goes into the bond between an equestrian and his horses, as well as the psychological effects of such an isolated journey, which leads into The Long Rider‘s unexpected epilogue. Altogether, The Long Rider ends up being an inspiring documentary.
Trailer for The Long Rider – Canadian Film Fest 2022
