LAKE COUNTY, Ore. – A documentary is coming to Ashland’s Varsity Theatre about a group of Oregon veterans who venture on a 200-mile journey through the remote wilderness.
“Unseen” tells the story of the Freedom to ROAM project, an epic bikepacking expedition featuring six veterans traveling through the Fremont section of the Oregon Timber Trail.
“Unseen” Director Chad Brown has nearly 30 years of experience with filmmaking and photography. He has also taken several expedition trips to the Arctic Circle, leading teams and teaching leadership in environmental justice. Much of his work centers around the idea of telling “untold” stories of underrepresented groups.
“There are so many beautiful people in this world that carry so many talents and experiences, and those are the real stories that I believe need to be really harnessed and incubated with a lot of care and expertise to bring those stories to the big screen,” Brown told NBC5 News.
Throughout their expedition, each veteran confronts their own experiences and uses their connections to the wilderness and their team as a means of processing trauma.
“As these veterans are embarking on this 200-mile journey, the trail becomes a therapist to each veteran.”
Woven into the documentary is the story of the Triple Nickles, the first all-Black Parachute Infantry Battalion in World War II. The “Smoke Jumpers,” as they were nicknamed, countered Japanese incendiary balloon bombs under Operation Firefly…