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In 2010, eccentric millionaire art dealer Forrest Fenn buried $3 million worth of treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Fenn published the secret to its location via a cryptic poem, which lured thousands out on a wild hunt to uncover the buried riches. Now, Fenn sits in his museum-like home plotting how to tease clue after clue in his treasure hunt, as throngs of dedicated searchers comb the Rockies.
The second feature documentary from award-winning director Tomas Leach, THE LURE meets an ensemble of these hunters as they match wits against Fenn, each driven by his or her own search for something more than just riches. This quixotic quest develops into an act of redemption for some, akin to a religious fervor. But is the treasure real, or a hoax perpetrated by a master manipulator?
London-based director Tomas Leach studied in the UK before working at Fabrica, Benetton’s creative institute in Italy. His first feature length documentary In No Great Hurry about legendary New York photographer Saul Leiter was released in cinemas in 2014 to critical acclaim.
Tomas Leach’s short documentary films have played at festivals worldwide, sold to multiple TV channels and been Vimeo staff picks. Alongside these he directs commercial work with Moxie Pictures for clients such as Adidas, IBM, Ikea, Vodafone and more.
Describing the film, Tomas Leach says “THE LURE is about storytelling. There are no objective facts, just hints, clues, stories and mystery. I always thought I’d know the film worked if when a couple were to go and see it, one half would come out dismissing the whole story as a hoax, and the other would be all set to go out searching for gold.”
Executive Produced by Errol Morris (The Fog of War) and featuring an original score by Calexico, THE LURE premiered in competition at docNYC and the Glasgow Film Festival and will be released in UK cinemas on 8 September 2017.
