The film, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo premiered on July 3, with the premise of the story resting on Stanley Johnson – father of former UK prime minister Boris and former universities minister Jo – following a big portion of the Silk Road with two friends whilst on holiday from Exeter College in the 60s.
However, the three friends didn’t manage to reach the end of it, with their motorbikes running into trouble on the Chinese border – so the film follows Stanley in the present, with his son Max, completing the rest of the journey to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Held at the Curzon Mayfair, the making of the film was sponsored by ELT school English Path; the CEO of its parent company GEDU, Vishwajeet Rana, told of how the film is “all about the passion for discovering something new and experiencing the world”.
“We will see the power of culture and learning, which is at the heart of what we do at GEDU, including English Path.
“As a supporter of language, culture and exploration, EP was honoured to be part of making this film,” Rana added.
Max Johnson, the youngest of the Johnson sons, had already studied in Beijing – which began a decade-long stint of working and living in China and Hong Kong – and is a fluent Mandarin speaker.
We hope bridges of mutual understanding, cultural exchange, and lasting collaboration can and will be built between China and Europe
Max Johnson
“By retracing Marco’s historic journey, we hope bridges of mutual understanding, cultural exchange, and lasting collaboration can and will be built between China and Europe,” Max said.
Stanley said that completing the Silk Road took “62 years” and was something that his friends – Michael de Larrabeiti and Tim Severin – would have “loved to have been a part of”. Michael and Tim died in 2008 and 2020 respectively.
“Being able to pick up where I left off more than six decades ago and complete this journey, with my son by my side, is something I will never forget,” he added.