The Unlikely Pilgrims Premier at Sydney Film Festival

Nine years in the making, The Unlikely Pilgrims by filmmaking partners John Cherry and Kirsten Mallyon has its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival on June 10 as an official selection in the Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize competition. This revelatory film is a documentary psychodrama, set along a beautiful medieval pilgrimage route - The Camino de Santiago, or Camino Frances, an ancient walk, spanning 800km across Northern Spain.

It is the story of four unusual pilgrims. Ronan is a drug and alcohol counsellor at a rehabilitation centre in NSW, Australia. With a strong sense of the philosophy behind his craft, he believes deeply that 'the rescuing element in counselling can do a lot of damage, can kill people in actual fact." Ronan is also a great believer in the healing power of long-distance walking and has completed the Camino five times already. He offers the opportunity to share a Camino pilgrimage with Amy, Chris and Dave, who have just completed their rehabilitation program. It is agreed that in Spain, Ronan will not act as their counsellor.