Inspiring Stories and Big Adventures at the Overland Expo East Film Festival

FILM: Sea2Sea GMRS Repeater Project

Set against the punishing backdrop of Baja Mexico’s central desert during a scorching mid-June, Sea2Sea GMRS Repeater Project captures an ambitious mission to tame one of North America’s most isolated cellular dead zones. Led by off-road expert Nathan Stuart alongside local guides, the crew sets out to install a network of GMRS two-way radio repeaters across rugged mountain peaks. With grueling heat exceeding 90 degrees, no formal radio engineering backgrounds, and terrain too treacherous for vehicles alone, the team is forced to rely on off-road trucks, hiking, and pack animals to haul heavy solar panels and equipment up the slopes.

The journey tests the crew’s resolve through stuck vehicles, grueling vertical hikes against punishing winds, and tense moments of lost communication. Yet, these exact obstacles underscore the high stakes of the project: providing a vital lifeline for locals and adventurers traversing the remote 50-mile stretch between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. Through grit, humor, and teamwork, the documentary highlights how grassroots communication infrastructure can transform safety and connectivity in the most unforgiving environments.

Filmmaker: Nathan Stuart

Raised on the Central Coast of California by a family of lifelong mountaineers, divers, and pilots, Nathan developed a deep-rooted passion for the outdoors and adventure from an early age. At 18, he moved to Mexico, spending the next 12 years traveling extensively through Baja and Central Mexico.

After returning to the United States at age 30 to work in the Central Coast wine industry—while continuing to escape back to Mexico multiple times a year—his adventurous spirit only grew. As an avid surfer, he has traveled and overlanded across four continents, mastering the art of navigating foreign and developing countries with ease.

In 2021, Nathan moved back to Mexico full-time to co-found and guide with Legends Overlanding. Fluent in Spanish and deeply fascinated by Baja history, his life’s ultimate goal is simple: to spend as much time as possible exploring every mile of the West’s wildest terrain.

FILM: We Drove 13,226 Miles Across North America With No Plan

142 days. 13,226 miles. 29 National Parks. 2 countries. One 20-year-old Tacoma.

On January 10, Gavin Anderson and his Alaskan Malamute, Wilson, left Alabama in a 2005 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road carrying a Four Wheel Camper and towing a homemade 6×8 shower trailer. Gavin had zero overlanding experience. What followed was a five-month journey across the United States and Canada, from the deserts of the Southwest and the Pacific Coast to blizzards in the Canadian Rockies. With plenty of breakdowns, questionable decisions, and incredible places along the way.

Gavin documented every single day of the trip. Willy’s World Tour is his attempt to condense 142 days of life on the road into 13 minutes: the landscapes, the failures, the people, the solitude, and the freedom of waking up each morning without knowing exactly where the day would end. It was true freedom—and a feeling he’ll be chasing forever.

Filmmaker: Gavin Anderson

Gavin Anderson is a U.S. Army veteran and software engineer by trade who spent the last decade discovering a passion for travel and the outdoors. That passion truly took hold during a fly-fishing trip with his father and brother just outside Yellowstone National Park, where he discovered a deep appreciation for wild places, and for capturing their beauty through video. Over the next two years, he traveled whenever he could, teaching himself to fly a drone and document the places he encountered along the way.

In October 2025, just two days after returning from a motorcycle backpacking trip through Bali, Indonesia, Gavin learned that the government shutdown had indirectly cost him his job. He describes the timing as his “unfortunate stars aligning”: an unexpected setback that suddenly gave him the freedom to chase a dream that had been hiding behind the comfort of everyday life. And, of course, drag his 7 year old Alaskan Malamute, Wilson, along for the ride.

Fortunately for someone who wasn’t particularly mechanically savvy, Gavin had a father with the know-how, tools, and willingness to help turn an idea into a capable overland rig. A few months later, Gavin and Wilson set out in a 20-year-old Toyota Tacoma on what would become the largest journey of his life—and ultimately the story behind Willy’s World Tour.