Famous Somerset resident Stanley Johnson and invited guests will attend the screening of “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo”. The red-carpet event will take place at the Scott Cinema in Bristol on Friday 26th July with arrivals at 7pm.
This is the first cinema release for West Country and Welsh production company One Tribe TV who filmed the documentary last year on an epic journey across China. “In The Footsteps of Marco Polo” is presented by former MEP, author and environmental campaigner Stanley Johnson – also known for his bravura performance in “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” - and his youngest son Max, 39 - an Asia expert and Mandarin speaker. Together they retrace the epic journey of the 13th Century Venetian merchant Marco Polo along the Silk Route through China, made famous in Polo’s classic book “The Travels”. The release of the film marks the 700th anniversary of Polo’s death in 1324.
Stanley’s own Silk Route journey in fact began in 1961, when with two colleagues from Oxford, he set out to travel from Venice to Beijing on motorbikes. However, the students ran out of time when they reached the border with China. Now, more than 60 year later, Stanley has completed his dream of finishing the journey West to East across China. The Johnsons spent seven weeks on location. Picking up where the Oxford expedition had left off. Starting in the Karakorum Mountains in far West China, “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo” follows their 2023 road trip to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the end of the Silk Road. The 2,500-mile journey - undertaken this time on four wheels, not two - took them through some of the most beautiful locations on Earth and into places rarely been seen by Western audiences before now.
Stanley says: “Being able to pick up where I left off 60 years ago and complete this journey, this time with my son by my side, is something I will never forget; but while this journey meant a lot to me personally, there is a bigger picture. The project presented an opportunity to show the importance of travel and multiculturalism - something that goes beyond borders and unites us all.”
The Premiere sees the fruition of a project that has taken 4 years to complete. It is an international co-production with the major Chinese broadcaster CCTV, financially supported by Global Education (GEDU’s) English Path Language Program and international distributors Blue Ant Media. It is another high-profile production for Bath-based One Tribe TV.
Dale Templar, Managing Director of One Tribe TV: “Throughout my career working around the world I have tried to make films with humour, joy and sensitivity. At a time when the world is facing so many challenges, I believe this film celebrates fabulous cultural diversity, showing how we all have the same hopes, fears and dreams, sharing a basic humanity. Marco Polo himself was in the vanguard of people who travelled the Silk Route and built cultural understanding and exchange and I sincerely believe this production has shown that this can be repeated today.”
Bath-born and educated Owen Gay, joint Managing Director of One Tribe said: “This premiere shows what a big hitter the West Country is in the global production market and not just in natural history. This is visually arresting historical travelogue. I am incredible proud of this film, its high-end production values and the large production team who came together to make it
His Excellency Zheng Zeguang, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the UK, said about the project: "Stanley Johnson's travel, like the story of Marco Polo, will help people in the UK to learn about the real China."
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