Follow Your Dreams – In the Yukon Wilderness
June 26th, 2008 – Toronto, Ontario; Rogers OMNI Television presented the world premiere of Follow Your Dreams. This 60 minute documentary is part of its Signature Series.
A new documentary from Real to Real Productions in association with Fresh From the Yukon Productions, Follow Your Dreams is the inspirational story of Frank Mueller, an immigrant from Gummersbach, Germany who gave up a good job, friends and family to follow his dream of becoming a trapper in the Yukon.
As a boy in Germany, Mueller devoured all books by Jack London and following in the footsteps of his father, who visited the Yukon in the 70s, Mueller embarked on a new life in the remote wilds of Canada’s north. He took a course on how to be a trapper and once licensed, bought a trap line and learned how to live off the land.
The serenity, beauty and adventure of his solo winter lifestyle are enthusiastically shared by his faithful dog Ruby. His partner Linda long ago realized she would have to share Frank with the wilderness. Frank is a bit more social in the summer when he welcomes small groups of tourists to his fishing lodge on Lake Kluane, where the water is pure enough to drink straight out of the lake and the fish practically jump on the line.
Follow Your Dreams is set against the stark beauty of the Yukon wilderness that fuelled Mueller’s dreams as a young boy, beautifully captured across the changing seasons by director/ cinematographer Werner Walcher. Others whose contributions were key to the realization of Follow Your Dreams include Anne Pick, producer, and Olaf Relitzki, editor.
We all dream, but few of us actually try to make those dreams a reality. Follow Your Dreams shares the story of one dreamer who dared to try.
Follow Your Dreams was exclusively funded through OMNI’s Independent Producers Initiative, a $32.5 million independent production fund that to date has supported over 200 new documentary programmes.
About Rogers OMNI Television:
Rogers OMNI Television is a free over-the-air regional broadcasting system operated by Rogers Communications in the Rogers Media division. The OMNI stations have the collective mandate to reflect Canada’s diversity through the airing of inclusive and accessible multilingual/multicultural programming. Web site: http://www.omni1.ca.
About the Producers:
Werner Walcher is an award-winning producer/director. He’s the President of Fresh from the Yukon Productions, based in Whitehorse, and director/ cinematographer/ writer of Follow Your Dreams. He specializes in directing and producing documentaries set in the North, reflecting his filmmaking goal to combine the beauty of the area with worldwide socially relevant stories.
Real to Reel Productions was established in 1986 and has since evolved into one of Canada’s most respected and dynamic and award winning independent factual production companies. One of the directors of the company – and producer of Follow Your Dreams – is Anne Pick, an award-winning producer, director and writer, and one of the founders of the internationally acclaimed Hot Docs International Documentary Festival.
OMNI-TV Media Contact:
Sandy Zwyer – Programme Information Coordinator, 416-260-3590
sandy.zwyer@rci.rogers.com
Follow Your Dreams Media Contact:
Janine Fawcett – J9 Communications, 416-255-5881
j9@ontheboards.com