Four years ago, Syracuse residents Sarah Sellman and Greg Grano embarked on 60-day road trip across the U.S. to film their documentary,
American Bear: An Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers . This week, they are returning to the Salt city for a weeklong series of events, which will include screenings and discussions. Syracuse is one of the couple’s longest stops as part of a six-month
national tour .
They formed the idea for the film when Grano mumbled, “We have to go to Bear, Colorado,” several times in his sleep, waking up his fiancé Sellman. Although Bear, Colo. does not exist, they discovered five other Bears in Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Arkansas and Delaware. The route formed a horseshoe, becoming a blue print for their trip across the U.S. Along the way, they made spontaneous stops to 30 cities, driving an average of three hours per day.
The couple stopped mostly in small towns and would approach strangers by asking for an interview. When they agreed, Sellman and Grano asked them questions about their town and if they would help them with their project. They wanted to see if strangers would take a chance on the couple, allowing them to sleep in their homes for each night. Sellman says their film explores the kindness of strangers in the U.S.
http://www.americanbearfilm.com/
BEAR Bones Check out this week’s events:
Tuesday, Sept. 23 : The Near Westside Initiative SALTQuarters Redhouse Arts Center Tickets Wednesday, Sept. 24 : As part of the Urban Video Project Everson Museum of Art Thursday, Sept. 25 : Syracuse University’s University Union
