For 20 years, photographer Nicholas Syracuse has chronicled people who travel the American backroads and train yards just outside our view, capturing stunning images of hidden places and people. His profound, mysterious images seem to always be in motion, luring him towards the freedom of the travelers, even as his loved ones call him back from the road.

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World Premiere - 2016 Ashland Independent Film Festival

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DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT:

Nicholas Syracuse's beautiful portraits of drifters, train hoppers, runaways and hobos are all self portraits in a way. There is a deep sense of camaraderie between Syracuse and his subjects, both sharing the itch to remain in constant motion, approaching each day with a wide-eyed curiosity to discover what lies around the next bend. But where most of his fellow travelers have long ago shed society entirely, Syracuse struggles to maintain both a home life and traveler's life. Photography protects this delicate balance as the work easily inspires a reason to leave and a reason to come home. The lifestyle can be extremely isolating but also carries with it a deep sense of self discovery and personal growth. Traveler explores the basic human need for artistic expression following an artist whose face does not need to be recognized. Syracuse’s life is quiet and simple, his artistic process pure: there are no deadlines, no projects, no schedules and no mass audience. His photography is a life’s work and will not be completed until he disappears into the horizon like so many of those he has captured on film.

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Directed by: Nick Hartanto & Sam Roden

Starring: Nicholas Syracuse

Produced by: Nick Hartanto, Sam Roden & Nicholas Syracuse

Music by: Alex Carpenter

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