Synopsis "Whilamut"
“Evening,” Sam said, closing the door behind him. “Are you guys talking about the election?”“Yup,” said the gray-haired man who wore camo cargo pants and an orange t-shirt.“What a disaster. Can you believe he won?”“We’re happy,” said the wife. “We voted for him.” “Oh.” A pause. “Oh, really?” Suddenly Sam regretted having walked into the conversation and felt his conscious self crawl out of his skin, back into his apartment, and close the door behind him. “Yup.” The man took a drag from his cigarette.“Who did you vote for?” the woman asked. “It wasn’t her, was it?”WHILAMUT: In the confused America of the Trump-era, an unexpected predicament sends a young man with Native American heritage and a curious hippy boy on a backpacking adventure in the Oregon Cascade Range. When turbulent events unfold back home, return becomes impossible. Stranded in the wilderness, their psychedelic odyssey to reunite with family and friends develops into a fight for survival.The rumble of semi trucks hauling heavy machinery, gravel, and logs did not return to the forest with the arrival of spring, nor did the buzz of chainsaws or the flutter of helicopters echo through the canyons. The natural balance began to recover. Streams, swelled by spring rains, rinsed the land clean of contaminants. A pioneering wolf pack with three surviving pups patrolled the mountain range, where wolves hadn’t been sighted in many decades. The forest reestablished itself on the edge of clear cuts, and trees marked for harvest with orange crosses painted on their trunks were not reduced to fields of stumps. Instead the trees, still mere babies compared to their old-growth ancestors, reached towards the sun and added another ring of girth, a continuous cycle that would culminate in a late seral forest by the end of the next century.As the damaged forest ecosystem recovers from decades of abuse, the fledgling band resolves to establish a new society in their own vision, one in balance with the natural world. The remote forests of the Pacific Northwest prove an ideal refuge, except for the unexpected arrival of adversaries with a competing vision, one of exploitation. Drawing on their knowledge of the land, the bounty of nature, and help from an animal friend, the tribe must work together to overcome the forces of oppression. Through comical shortcomings and affectionate idealism, this humorous adventure pulls no punches in illuminating the ramshackle spirit of the counterculture movement in the midst of a culture war gone nuclear.The moon glowed high above, and in the pale light they slinked back to the village the same way they had come. Past the two bridges and up the slope, they paused on the side of the road to check if the coast was clear. After a minute of silence Codan stepped out of the forest onto the road, and Kyle followed. A deep prehistoric growl filled the lane, followed by a long hiss.“Shit!” Kyle cried and stumbled backwards into the brush.Codan hushed him and whispered, “Don’t move.” He extended his open palm towards the large predator on the opposite side of the road. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.” Koda didn’t fully recognize his voice, now deeper than the treble tone of the boy she had cuddled with many moons past. She emitted a softer growl and prowled towards his open palm with curiosity. From just inches away she recognized the familiar scent of her adoptive mother, though more pungent now, and the rumble of her deep purring filled the road as she licked his open hand. With trust reestablished he rubbed her head and round black ears, and the cat, larger than he remembered, placed her front paws on his shoulders and licked his face.“Uh… is it… is it safe to come out now?” Kyle whispered.
