Mar 28, 2016 The Film “Voyagers Without Trace” Makes Its Mark

It’s 1938 and three young Parisians have set out on an adventure of a lifetime – to travel halfway across the world and take kayaks down the untamed Green and Colorado rivers. Newlyweds Genevieve and Bernard de Colmont along with their friend, Antoine de Seynes, indeed embarked on this journey, and recorded their experience on motion film… but the reels go unseen for fifty years.

Fast-forward to the year 1986 here at the Marriott Library where Multimedia Archivist Roy Webb has begun working on his first book of Green River history. Roy learned of the French kayakers through contemporary newspaper accounts. Intrigued by mention of the diaries being kept by the kayakers, he contacted a descendant of Antoine de Seynes and obtained a transcript of Antoine’s diary and a copy of the original film.

Roy then spent the next two decades searching for a film maker who would make a documentary of this fascinating story. Then, in 2010, Roy received a phone call from Ian McCluskey of Northwest Documentaries in Portland, Oregon. Ian was seeking a copy of an article about the trio that Roy had written; he didn’t realize that Roy also had secured the films from the French adventurers. The copy of the original film enabled the film crew to retrace and duplicate the kayaking trip of the French adventurers.

What beckoned Bernard de Colmont, his new bride, and his best friend halfway around the globe on the eve of WWII? Both filmmaker and archivist were captivated by this question. What started with Ian’s phone call to the library’s Special Collections, resulted in the creation of an award-winning documentary film, Les Voyageurs Sans Trace.

‘“Voyagers Without Trace” is a story of curiosity leading to exploration, and in that pursuit, forming connections of empathy across time, geography, and culture,” explains McCluskey. “The French trio sparked my boyhood quest for adventure. What started as a mission to research the past became a larger reflection about being open to the unknown and discovering connections to people and places. Along the way were moments of shared joy and humor.”

About Roy Webb

Roy has been running rivers since 1975 and has authored several books including If We Had a Boat: Green River Explorers, Adventurers, and Runners 1986); River Man: The Story of Bus Hatch (1989); Call of the Colorado (1994); High, Wide, and Handsome: the river journals of Norman D. Nevills (2005); River Running on the Green: A Brief History (2011); Lost Canyons of the Green River (2012); and numerous journal articles on the history of western rivers. He served as Lead Advisor to the film project and joined the film crew for part of their trip down the rivers.

Roy Webb, Multimedia Archivist in Special Collections, will introduce the film by Ian McCluskey

Questions? Call Judy Jarrow at 801-581-3421

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