Aldersgate Screening to Raise Funds for Youth-Based Environmental Education Program

The Middle Path” Follows Jenna Boss on a Solo Journey Through John Muir Trail 

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Jenna Boss’ independent feature film “The Middle Path”—which follows her journey of self-discovery along the John Muir Trail in California alone—will be screened at Aldersgate Retreat Center in the Palisades on Tuesday, January 21.

Boss shared that she was 23 at the time and was forced to face the burning question: “What am I doing in my 20s?”

“It was an epic journey that centers around the importance of listening to yourself and also taking time for yourself,” Boss explained to the Palisadian-Post. “I think today—especially in a city with eight million people—it’s hard to find that alone time and it’s hard to disconnect.”

Boss, born and raised in Minnesota, moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and said “The Middle Path” was drawn from her natural pull to the environment. A friend of hers encouraged her to document her excursion and share her story—so she did.

This will be her second time screening the film, and she chose to screen it at Aldersgate because of a friend’s tie to the location and its appropriate setting.

“I didn’t want it to be this huge movie theater thing, it’s an independent film funded by friends and family,” Boss said. “I wanted something more intimate and more wholesome.”

All proceeds from the January 21 event will be donated to TreePeople’s Adopt a Class program, an initiative to connect inner-city youth with the environment.

“I know how hard it is for urban kids, underprivileged kids in Los Angeles to connect with the environment,” Boss said. “Even though they’re only 10 or 15 miles away, some of them have never seen the ocean, some of them have never been on a hike, and I think we forget how lucky we are to be able to do that.”

Boss hopes to continue making films in the future. She has a video and film company, Boss Road Films, that is based around empowerment, purpose and people. Their mission is to tell “purpose-driven stories that empower people to do better in the world,” according to the website.

The story behind the name of Boss Road Films reveals an homage to her upbringing. Boss shared that she grew up on Boss Road, surrounded by her family, creating amateur commercials and films with her cousins.

“My roots started on Boss Road,” Boss shared with the Post. “It’s named after the street that I grew up on where I started filming things, the root of my company is where my roots were.”

The film will start at 6:15 p.m. and will be followed by a Q&A with Boss and TreePeople. Tickets are $12. Aldersgate Retreat Center is located at 925 Haverford Ave.

For tickets, visit eventbrite.com for “The Middle Path – Los Angeles Film Screening.”