AIt was 'inspired by' (meaning very loosely based on) the true story of 19-year old Joe Spring whose car crashed on 21 May, 2001 as he was driving from his home in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada to Prince Rupert (just south of the Alaskan border) via Quesnel to attend a friend's high school graduation party. His car left the road about 34 km north of Williams Lake, hit a tree, and came to rest behind an embankment, trapping him without access to food or water. He was found alive eight days later by a search helicopter. Other than those details, the rest of the movie, e.g., family problems, girl problems, drug-dealing, etc., was added for dramatic effect.