Not all who wander are lost.

We certainly found that to be true when we first saw Maidentrip on film festival screens last year. Born on a boat to parents sailing the world, Laura Dekker grew up on the sea. At 13, she declared to the world that she wanted to be the youngest person to sail the world solo.

The world responded. In 2009, the New York Times ran an op-ed article ‘How Young Is Too Young to Sail Around the World?’ and that got filmmaker Jillian Schlesinger wanting to know more. Laura Dekker and her parents found herself in year-long fight with Dutch authorities who felt it was negligent to let someone so young sail around the world solo.

I was so curious about who Laura was as a person, as a young person with the desire to pursue such a courageous adventure and the tenacity to fight for it against government authorities and public opinion. I was delighted when Laura responded to my proposal. […] That was about two months before Laura got permission to do the trip and set sail.

More than adventure, we found Maidentrip to be a story about the human spirit. We find a young girl who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to follow her adventurous dream. “Freedom is when you’re not attached to anything”, says Laura Dekker.

The film launched it’s digital distribution this summer and is our Monday Movie pick! If you missed it in theaters, definitely catch it online. It’s available in the usual places like Netflix streaming, Amazon, iTunes, and also the the film’s website.