Filmmaker struggles to complete epic motorcycle documentary
One of the greatest motorcycle movies ever made may never be seen. The filmmakers have run out of money.
The currently untitled feature-length documentary chronicles the three-year, around-the-world motorcycle expedition by Daniel Rintz and Josephine Flohr. The two riders left their native Berlin in April 2014 and, after visiting North and South America, Africa and multiple points along the way, returned to Germany this summer.
Rintz planned the documentary as a follow-up to his “Somewhere Else Tomorrow,” a much-admired motorcycle adventure he filmed while on a multiple-year ride through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“Somewhere Else Tomorrow” enjoyed some success when it was released in 2013, and became available on Amazon Prime, iTunes and other outlets. Rintz felt, after the acclaim, that it deserved a sequel.
But now the travelers’ funds are depleted, with and the movie is not completed. Rintz started an IndieGoGo campaign to raise the money required to finish it.
Rintz ended the first part of his planned around the world journey in New Zealand. Later, he and Flohr, whom he had met in Thailand, resumed the ride, she on a BMW R80GS, he on a BMW R1200GS.
The travelers worked odd jobs along the way — making promotional films for hotels that let them stay for free, washing dishes in restaurants and picking berries, for example — to pay for gas, food and lodging.
Rintz shot it all, using a Canon 5D mkII, Sony a7S, Sony a7II, GoPro4 Black, Sony ActionCam and various iPhones.
The result is a magical tapestry of images, a catalog of colorful places, people and practices.
“The main story that we bring back is that 99% of the people are fantastic, helpful and interesting,” Rintz said by phone from Berlin. “But there were tough times as well. There were accidents and hardship, and we were sick sometimes.”
There were breakdowns, too, especially with Flohr’s vintage R80GS, and some sticky situations involving difficult geographical landscapes, unstable political landscapes, uncomfortable border crossings and run-ins with child soldiers in Africa.
The best riding?
“It seems corny to say to someone from Los Angeles, but the U.S. really surprised us,” Rintz said. “The riding is fantastic, and the people are fantastic. Everywhere we visited, people stopped us in supermarket parking lots and said, ‘What’s your story?’ We were invited to camp in a lot of people’s backyards.”
So far, the IndieGoGo campaign has raised about 86% of the target of about $30,000.
“We need help with the music and with graphics, and some legal fees,” he said. “We’re not actually taking any of this money. It’s just to finish the movie.”
The fundraising campaign ends Nov. 11.
