EXCLUSIVE: HBO has announced a December 20 release date for Daniel, the remarkable first-person story of filmmaker Daniel Northcott, who documented his travels around the world, including a visit to a mysterious Mayan cave that may have precipitated his death.
We have your first look at the documentary in the newly released trailer above. Daniel, produced by a team that features Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, will be available on Max as well as the HBO platform. Daniel Northcott is the director of the film that was assembled from 1,400 hours of footage he shot in locations across the globe; his older sister Erin finished the film after his passing.
“When Daniel Northcott got a hold of his father’s video camera at the age of seven, a lifetime of documenting the world around him began,” notes a synopsis of the film. “Growing up, he focused his lens on his family and close friends, and as a young man, he recorded precious moments with the people and places he encountered on his travels, striving to live a life of love and seek out universal human connection.”
The synopsis continues, “On a mission to pursue an epic adventure, Daniel visits war zones to sacred sites, including a Mayan burial ground in a cave in Mexico. He would often take a keepsake from each location as a reminder of his connection to the earth. But Daniel’s world travels abruptly end when he must return home to Vancouver because of health reasons. While undergoing treatment, he is haunted by the memory of an ancient Mayan curse and goes on a quest to put things back where they belong before he runs out of time.”
HBO Documentary Films presents Daniel. Directed by Daniel Northcott; produced by Erin Northcott, Jeff Waxman, Jennifer Madeloff, Dan Walser, Ricky Staub, Adam McKay, and Kevin Messick. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller; senior producer, Tina Nguyen.
Watch the trailer above.