WASHINGTON, D. C. (Friday, May 1, 2020) –– Few adventurers can claim as many successes – or crashes – as Augustus Post. He was the first person with a car in New York City – and, unfortunately, the first to get a traffic ticket, among the first civilians in a submarine and the 13th to fly an airplane solo. The Unforgettable Augustus Post tells the story of Post and his many exploits in a 30-minute film, which airs May 2 at 7 p.m. on Maryland Public Television (MPT).

The film combines interviews with experts and relatives with historic photos and fanciful animations to tell the story of a man whose visionary ideas included jet propulsion and interplanetary society at a time when automobiles and airplanes were still quite novel.

Post loved automobiles and played a role in founding what is now the American Automobile Association (AAA), but flying fascinated him. He took his first trip into the air on a hot air balloon at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, France.

“I can only imagine what it would be like at that point in human history to rise up above Paris, of all cities. The inspiration that must have given him clearly affected the rest of his life,” said Peter A. Ward, a great nephew of Post.

Post, along with Alan Hawley, later set a distance and duration record (1,173 miles in 44 hours and 25 minutes) in 1910 for flying a free air balloon from St. Louis to Quebec in the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race. They landed in a remote area and were presumed dead. But they emerged from the wilderness 10 days later and claimed their win. The record stood for 95 years.

The film has received recognition at 16 different festivals, including:

• Best Documentary Short: The Chelsea Film Festival

• Best Documentary Short: The Orlando Film Festival

• Best Film Editing: The International Motor Film Awards               

The Unforgettable Augustus Post is presented nationally by WNED and distributed by American Public Television (APT).

More information on The Unforgettable Augustus Post can be found at https://www.theunforgettableaugustuspost.com.

AAA Northern California’s A3 Productions produced the film in collaboration with Bread and Butter Films, with animation by WeWereMonkeys. A3 Productions is the latest brand to explore original content production, following brands such as Airbnb, LiveNation, Marriott, Pepsi, and Redbull that have recently launched similar efforts.

About the distributor:

American Public Television (APT) is the leading syndicator of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations. Founded in 1961, APT distributes 250 new program titles per year and more than one-third of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles in the U.S. APT’s diverse catalog includes prominent documentaries, performance, dramas, how-to programs, classic movies, children’s series and news and current affairs programs. Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders, America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, AfroPoP, Rick Steves’ Europe, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television, Front and Center, Lidia’s Kitchen, Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Kitchen, Simply Ming, The Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, James Patterson’s Kid Stew and NHK Newsline are a sampling of APT’s programs, considered some of the most popular on public television. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service and distributes Create^®TV — featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming — and WORLD™, public television’s premier news, science and documentary channel. To find out more about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.

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AAA provides automotive, travel and insurance services to 60 million members nationwide and nearly 82,000 members in the District of Columbia.  AAA advocates for the safety and mobility of its members and has been committed to outstanding road service for more than 100 years.  The not-for-profit, fully tax-paying member organization works on behalf of motorists, who can now map a route, find local gas prices, discover discounts, book a hotel and track their roadside assistance service with the AAA Mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android. For more information, visit  https://aaa.com