Astronaut John Harrington | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
shot in the beautiful landscape of the United States of America, in the woods of nature Astronaut John Harrington, pilot Ariel Tweto, and long-distance hiker Jennifer Farr Davis travel through the wilds of Alaska, the lush coastline of Oregon, the pristine valleys of the Southwest, and the rolling hills of the Appalachian Trail. Add to this, Morgan Freeman’s baritone voice-over moves along with the silences, echoing with reflections and galloping horses running along.
Keeping in view the film, which was recently screened at PVR, Express Avenue, to promote travel and open dialogue between travel agents and the Consulate, for obtaining US Tourist Visa (B2). The tool is to highlight the progress made to clean up the queues. Carlton Benson, head of non-immigrant visas at the US Consulate in Chennai, explained, “Two months back we have brought down the waiting time from over 900 days to 600 days and now we have brought it down to 300 days.”
The screening was followed by an interactive interaction at the Taj Coromandel, which was attended by Judith Ravin, US Consul General in Chennai.
A glass of filter coffee sits on John’s table at the Taj Coromandel. As its scent wafts into the air, we engage in an animated conversation. John, the first Native American astronaut in space in 2002, says he grew up in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. “Scenes like these just melt my heart,” he says, sipping his coffee.
Now living in Montana, he belongs to the Chickasaw Tribe (a federally recognized tribe). “My tribe was from the South Eastern part of the United States. The film talks about the fact that we didn’t just move to America – evidence shows we came here in little red boats 5,000 years ago,” he says.
The film weaves elements of US history into the culture of hiking, trekking, camping or road tripping on scenic routes. American landscapes such as national and state parks, rich eco systems, wildlife and rolling forests were places where John’s ancestors once lived and breathed. Coincidentally, John’s co-star Ariel Tweto also belongs to a Native American tribe. “When I was asked to be in the film, I knew I would get to do it with another Native American and I loved it,” he continued.
John left for space in 2002 for space mission STS-113. Prior to this, he was awarded ‘eagle feathers’ by his clan chief, which was the symbol of his clan. One of his dialogues in films remembers this beautifully. “At the beginning of the 21st century, an eagle’s feather was launched into space…”
The IMAX film was shot in the summer of 2018. Of the filming process, John recalls: “Ariel and I got to travel around the country seeing places I’d never even heard of before. We filmed first at Niagara Falls, then from South Carolina to New York, New Mexico to Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, St. Louis and Cahokia, where indigenous peoples built large mounds of earth at least 5,000 years ago.