Hostile Territory

During the American Civil War and his subsequent captivity as a prisoner of war, soldier Jack Calgrove has only one thing on his mind: the reunion of his beloved family. However, the long-awaited return is met with several shocks: the Northern officer not only learns that his beloved wife has tragically died. The authorities also assumed that Jack himself was no longer alive and placed the couple's three children on one of the so-called “orphan trains”. The children are sent across enemy lines deep into the west of the country to Missouri, where their older half-brother lives. Calgrove fears that his children will never make it there. And so he joins an unusual, heavily armed troop: With a handful of Native Americans, a soldier separated from his unit (Craig Tate) and a former slave (Natalie Whittle) who, like Jack, was snatched from her child, the desperate father takes up the pursuit of the train. The historical drama based on true events revolves around the so-called “orphan trains”, which were used between 1854 and 1920 to transport thousands of orphans from the north-east of the USA to the west in order to place them with foster families. This placement, which was sold as a “success story” for a long time, often resulted in the exploitation and abuse of the children sent. "Hostile Territory” by director Brian Presley, who not only plays the lead role of the worried father, but has also cast his own children as the three supposed orphans, traverses beautiful, but also dangerously hostile landscapes in keeping with the film's title. In his previous film “The Great Alaskan Race”, Presley told the story of a widower (once again played by him) who, in 1925, transports important medicines hundreds of kilometers by dog sled in order to save his own daughter. This visually stunning indie western outlines what holds people together despite all their differences and features a touching finale.