Directed by Sean Cisterna, The Long Rider, the award-winning western documentary on Filipe Masetti Leite’s journey from Canada to Brazil entirely on horseback, will screen at the Dances With Films film festival in L.A on June 16.

A documentary/western, the film follows Filipe Leite, an aspiring journalist who leaves his adoptive home of Canada on an epic quest to ride from Calgary to his family’s home in Brazil – and later beyond – entirely on horseback.

Inspired by Aimé Tschiffely’s 1925 equestrian journey, Filipe’s 8 year odyssey of over 25,000 kms across 12 international borders, sees the young immigrant battle intense heat, drought, speeding transport trucks, nature’s wrath and corrupt border guards on his history-making long ride home.

Watch the trailer for The Long Rider.

Sean Cisterna is a multi award-winning and versatile film director. His latest film is the feature documentary The Long Rider (2022), the expansive and inspiring story of Filipe Masetti Leite’s journey from Canada to Brazil entirely on horseback, and filmed in 13 different countries. Cisterna found success with From the Vine (2020), an international coproduction starring Emmy winner Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix, Memento, The Sopranos), and distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films. Cisterna directed the acclaimed cancer drama Kiss and Cry (2017), which topped the Canadian box office, and is currently streaming on Netflix worldwide. His 2015 feature Full Out, starring Jennifer Beals (Flashdance, The L Word), is based on the true story of gymnast Ariana Berlin. The film was broadcast on NBC, now residing with Netflix Worldwide and Disney Europe. Cisterna was awarded a Canada 150 Citizenship Award by the Federal Government for his dedication to and community engagement in the arts.