BOISE, Idaho — A documentary film shot in Idaho that's made up of a local cast and crew has been accepted into several national film festivals. "Following the Lieutenant" makes it world debut March 19.
The film's director, Eric Westrom, was also a former KTVB employee.
"Basically, it's about a group of buffalo soldiers who helped pioneer the use of the bicycle for the U.S. Army in the late 1890s," Westrom said.
The scenery featured in Following the Lieutenant may look familiar to Idahoans. The reenactments were shot in the Boise Foothills, Boise Military Reserve, Cascade and other locations across southern Idaho.
Westrom says he wanted to tell this lesser-known part of history because of his interest in cycling and historic events. The headquarters for the Army's bicycle corps was in Westrom's hometown of Missoula, Montana.
"They took a 1,900-mile expedition from Missoula, Montana to St. Louis, Missouri in the summer of 1897," Westrom said. “The bikes on average weighed about 50 pounds and it wasn't like today. I mean even the dirt roads then were bad, so they were mostly trying to follow the rail lines and that wasn't easy."
So far, Following the Lieutenant has been accepted into four film festivals. Westrom believes Idaho's backdrops for the film helped contribute to its success.
"We made use of Idaho's diverse landscapes from the mountains, forests, rivers, high deserts, the plain, the entire look was crucial to doing this."
"Following the Lieutenant" will premiere in Idaho at the end of May at the Grand Teton Film Festival in Rexburg.