PRESS RELEASE:

Many people dream of adventure, but only a few live them. In the spirit of history's great explorers, two friends had a dream to retrace Marco Polo's entire 25,000-mile route. Denis Belliveau, a wedding photographer, and Francis O'Donnell, an artist and former Marine, spent two bold years of their lives making their dream a reality. The result is a documentary film, In The Footsteps of Marco Polo.

Their incredible adventure tale, airing on KUED-Channel 7 on Wednesday, March 31 at 9:00 p.m., chronicles their journey from Venice to China as they follow Polo's historic route. Equal parts travelogue, adventure story, history trek and buddy movie, the 90-minute film documents the voyage as they travel among cultures ranging from Tajik soldiers to expert horsemen of Mongolia to the tattooed tribes of Indonesia.

With Marco Polo's descriptions and experiences interlaced throughout the film, the two travelers keep in mind what the 13th century tradesman must have seen and experienced, detailing the highs and lows of often uncertain and unexpected conditions. "Travel is the enemy of bigotry," says O'Donnell. "There are a lot more good people on the planet than bad."

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