The Home Road
Dad and I are thankful for the many theatres and communities in Maine and New Hampshire that screened the film and had us present it in person with post-film Question & Answer sessions. We continue to do occasional in-person screening events.
Thanks, too, to Maine Public Television for broadcasting the documentary film several times.
Below you can watch the documentary in its entirety (approximately 76 minutes), take a peek at the official movie trailer, and/or look around at other resources and videos.
— Tonya
Film synopsis
In 1845, 19-year-old Israel Shevenell left his home in Canada and walked nearly 200 miles to Biddeford, Maine. He found work and built a new life in an American boomtown being transformed by the Industrial Revolution, and is recognized as the city’s first permanent French-Canadian settler.
In 2015, his 74-year-old great-great-grandson, Ray Shevenell, retraced the pioneering journey, walking from Compton, Quebec to Biddeford.
Ray’s ancestral trek shapes the 76-minute film. Layered over the adventure are interviews, archive photos, narrations, stories, and an original soundtrack by Sumner McKane.
The Home Road is an exploration of family, history, and identity - and how a journey into the unexpected inevitably leads to…home.
The Home Road (the full feature film): You can use the setting options on the right side of the play bar to watch it in full screen, or change the resolution or volume. We hope you enjoy the movie! For a sneak peek, please see below for the film’s official trailer.
Film production
The Home Road was filmed between Compton, Quebec and Biddeford, Maine; over the Canaan, VT-Hereford border crossing, through the Great North Woods and White Mountains regions of NH, following the Saco River into Maine. Additional interviews were filmed at various sites in Biddeford and neighboring towns.
The official trailer is a two minute and 41 seconds introduction to the feature film.
The miles in music
Between May 31st and June 12th, 2015, Maine musician Sumner McKane composed a piece of music from images I sent him from the road. The images were “essence of” Dad’s trekking day. As Dad made his way, so did this beautiful piece of music. Sumner finished the piece as Dad finished the trek. I then put this video together, pairing images and music to commemorate the nearly 200-mile, two-week adventure that was Dad’s 2015 ancestral trek.
I didn’t realize how valuable this “exercise” would be to the final film. Being able to refer to these “essence of” images while editing the feature length documentary helped me stay true to the experience of each day, long after the trek was over.
Starting from scratch.
Over the winter of 2014, I came up with the name of the film and put an introductory trailer together as a way to announce it -and more importantly, to practice working with video, archive photos and other media, and editing and animation software (Final Cut Pro X and Motion). I also started my LLC, Home Ice Productions.