Documentary about Volkswagens finally is finished

It was six years ago when we last checked with Dave Torstenson and his fascination with vintage Volkwagen minibuses, the VW community, and a fitful attempt to drive a 1972 minibus from Tulsa to Los Angeles on Route 66 while being filmed by a documentary crew.

The film by Ryan Steven Green, “Circle the Wagen,” finally will premiere at the Albuquerque Film and Media Experience next Sunday, reported the Albuquerque Journal.

Here’s the trailer:

Circle the Wagen – OFFICIAL TRAILER from Ryan Green on Vimeo.

The Journal described the arduous journey for the filmmakers and minibus:

But getting footage for the film took two trips and spanned over a few years. Green says the first trip out to California failed and only lasted 20 hours of driving.

“The bus broke down and Dave left the bus in Tulsa with his girlfriend’s family,” he says. “It was when we were planning another trip that we learned of this whole culture that helps people fix up their Volkswagens.”

When the guys got to Tulsa, they drove Route 66 until they hit Tucumcari.

“It was a rough 13 days because the bus broke down every day, but we met a lot of folks along the way,” he says. “When we broke down in Tucumcari, we were out of money and we were only a third of the way done.”

The trio asked the owner of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari if they could leave the bus there and said they’d be back soon.

“Four years later, the owner, Bill Kinder, called us up and said we needed to come get it. He was selling the motel and didn’t want anything to happen to it,” he says. “That’s when we decided we had to finish this adventure.”

During the minibus’ long stayover in Tucumcari, people began shooting pictures of themselves next to it and posting them on the Internet. The VW even had its own Flickr page.

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