blue highway

I noticed the dirt road, I noticed car rows in the parking lot 

by Pioneers Go East Collective

blue highway is a queer road film meets music video reimagining of Allen Ginsberg's poem, On the Cremation of Chogyam Trungpa, Vidyadhara. Inspired by this spiritual work and a selection of Ginsberg's ballads, the film is a short film that fictionalizes the two protagonists' journey of self- and re-discovery as they travel by car from NYC to Barnet, Vermont, to witness the funeral of Buddhist Guru Chogyam Trungpa. Influenced by the Buddhist principles of awareness and detachment in the original poem, Blue highways will convey a journey within a journey – the dual navigation of the mind and body toward enlightenment. The monologues and songs are a series of reflections or soliloquies.

The Collective: Film director & writer: Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte; Filmmakers/ editors: Adele Overbey and joy burklund; Production Designer: Philip Treviño. Featuring: ALEXA Grae (composer), and Daniel Diaz

blue highway was made possible in part with NYSCA funding and filmed at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (Tivoli, NY) in 2024.