Director DIANNE WHELAN (Canada 2023) 120 min

“I chose this” isn’t a line you often hear uttered by modern-day adventurers in the midst of grueling journeys. But you’ll hear it in 500 Days in the Wild from filmmaker Dianne Whelan, the first person to complete the world’s longest recreational trail, connecting the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans. Those three words signify Whelan’s full acceptance and appreciation of her six-year awareness-raising quest to traverse 24,000 kilometers (14,915 miles) of Canadian land and water trails, as well as the clear determination with which she won the 2020 DocPitch Audience Award and made this gutsy, glorious film. Attributing her success to the kindness of strangers and the wisdom of indigenous elders, Whelan accomplished so much by fully settling into her journey of a lifetime—embracing all it offered to teach her, and us.