When he becomes the newest unwilling explorer in a Utah wilderness program for troubled youth, a rowdy and violent teenager must change the trajectory of his life to repair his fractured relationships and earn his way back home.

...think: HOLES meets WILD

SYNOPSIS:

Inspired by True Events

LOGLINE: When he becomes the newest unwilling explorer in a Utah wilderness program for troubled youth, a rowdy and violent teenager must change the trajectory of his life to repair his fractured relationships and earn his way back home.

{COMPS: HOLES meets WILD}

In the early 90s, a Southern California beach town stood peppered with violent gangs, as high schools became their recruiting grounds – amongst the trouble is NOBLE SKINNER (16; insecure and aggressive). From the neglect of his mother’s abandonment, he clings to drugs, alcohol, and violence to fit in. His father and only parent, JAKE SKINNER (40s; pilot and single parent), learns about a brutal fight Noble was in, as the school informs him that his son is not welcome to return. Police involved share with Jake a place in Utah that helps “troubled kids” change their behavior with the help of tough love.

Tricked into revealing why he and his dad are in Escalante, Utah, Noble is flown there by his father and soon learns that he’s now under the care of strangers, who promise he won't see his dad again until he changes the trajectory of his life. Noble’s informed that he can legally be here until he’s eighteen, and if he’s ever to see his father before then, there’s going to be some profound changes to be made in Noble’s behavior. Noble is stripped down to his underwear and equipped head-to-toe with hiking boots and wilderness camping supplies. Noble is powerless over everything now and entirely out of control.

At the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, during midwinter, Noble joins a large group of “troubled teens” just like him. Yet, these kids are desperately in need of a shower and proper nutrition. Noble’s arrogance escapes him as he sees his filthy peers and what his future holds as the newest and youngest unwilling explorer. Unable to flee through substances and violence because of his size, Noble earns his place with the group and quickly befriends another teen, NATE (17), through his resilience and ability to forge primitive tools and make bow-drill fires. Noble notches his belt tighter as a diet works its magic on his physique, and weekly hikes for water and food, fifty miles apart.

Eventually, Noble progresses through the first two levels (“Primitive” & “Advanced”) and is tasked to journal his wrongdoings to be read by the staff, OAK LEAF (50s), and forwarded to his father in due time. Noble spends multiple days alone while camping “SOLO.” As all the teens are scattered about regularly, creating a passion for change, Noble finally earns the last level of admittance, and he and Nate are rewarded with Llamas to pack and carry their belongings. Noble is finally tasked with writing a letter to a new school, hoping to be accepted when he returns once he comes clean to his dad and the Staff about everything he’s done to be sent here. Rumors of kids who’ve gotten to go home start sounding real now.

When honesty becomes the newest habit, Noble and Nate are told one morning that “at the end of a ten-mile stretch, freedom awaits you.” Noble and Nate take off in a full sprint and run the entire length into their loved ones' welcoming arms. Jake and Noble fly back to a newly renovated house with a freshly painted bedroom, representing the clean slate Noble had envisioned seven months before. Now back home, Noble learns that his best friend has been murdered while he was gone, as he embarks on a new journey at a new school and begins his second chance at life. But Noble has just one more thing he must do… With a bag full of pictures and tools that have molded him into who he has become, Noble knocks on the door of a house of someone he hasn’t seen in years. Noble smiles and says, “Hi Mom,” as he closes the door on abandonment and opens a new one into maturity.