Film: The Boyhood of John Muir

Actor Gary Hollywood as the young John Muir.

About the Film
The film The Boyhood of John Muir is a dramatic and compelling look at the early life of America's first great spokesman for wilderness. The film is divided into three parts. In the first part, the dramatic battle lines are drawn: the free-spirited boy John Muir is pitted against his well-intentioned but unforgiving father, and the joy of nature is John's escape from the pious solemnity of their rugged life on a Wisconsin farm in the 1850s. In the second part, John gets help in his struggle from both his mother and from an older neighbor called the Yankee -- help that helps him live with his father and learn the beautiful and just laws of the natural world. In the third part, John begins to make inventions, a skill that carries him away from the backbreaking labor of the farm; but a trick of fate shows him what he really cares about. At last he abandons mechanical science to pursue his overwhelming love of nature and God's creatures.

Screenings
The film premiered on September 21, 1997 at the Brenckenridge Film Festival in Colorado, and went on to a number of screenings at prestigious venues around the United States before being released on December 25, 1998 on National Public Television as a Christmas Day Special.

Awards
The Boyhood of John Muir has won the following awards:
Gold Hugo Award -- Chicago International Television Competition
Finalist Award -- The New York Festivals
Bronze Apple -- National Educational Media Network Competition
Merit Award -- 21st International Wildlife Film Festival
Silver Award, Worldfest, Charleston
CINE Gold Eagle - Council on International Non-Theatrical Events, Washington, D.C.

From Florentine Films. Produced by Diane Garey. Directed by Lawrence R. Hott. Screenplay by Ken Chowder. Starring Gerda Stevenson, Ken Drury, Joanne Bett, Colin Bruce, and introducing Gary Hollywood as the young John Muir. 78 minutes, 1997, VHS and DVD.

Distributors
For U.S. distribution, contact:
Bullfrog Films
P.O. Box 149
Oley, PA. 19547
Telephone: 800-543-3764
Fax: 610-370-1978

For international distribution, contact:
Jane Balfour Films Ltd.,
Burghley House, 35 Fortess Road
London NW5 1AD England
Phone: 0-171-267-5392
Fax: 0-171-267-4241