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Dead of Winter: The Donner Party

  • Watchlist
  • 2015
  • 1 hr 24 mins
  • Documentary
  • Watchlist

What starts as a call to the West quickly turns to a deadly journey for three families and their compatriots on a quest for the American Dream. Trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, they fall prey to sub-zero temperatures, torrential rainfalls, floods and ten foot snow drifts, and are eventually forced to turn on each other in order to survive. Using a hybrid, multi-media approach we set out to explore one of the most macabre and sensational stories in American history through first-person narration, dramatic reenactment, expert interviews, green screen, CGI, and archival materials. Through the scope of the landscape and the weather encountered, the audience will be brought closer to the emotional and mental anguish these settlers experienced in this timeless battle of Man vs. Nature.

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Darrin Miller
James Reed
Elizabeth Austin
Expert Spokesperson
Libby Baker
Margaret Reed

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