The "Young Hemingway: The Path to Paris" project was launched to coincide with the 2012 biennial conference of the International Hemingway Society, meeting for the first time in Petoskey. The conference sessions held in the historic summer community of Bay View focused on young Hemingway’s early observations and writings – as does the documentary.

The documentary was produced by Contemporary Learning Systems (CLS), a Michigan-based non-profit company. Its production partner, Starbright Media Corporation (SMC), based in Petoskey, Michigan, contributed all overhead costs to the project. Dr. George Colburn, a historian, and SMC’s executive producer, wrote and directed the production of Young Hemingway. Dr. George Colburn passed in December of 2022. The film will be introduced by Christopher Struble -content producer for the film and President of the Michigan Hemingway Society. This film is the definitive summary of the influence Michigan had on young Ernest Hemingway during his 23 formative summers spent on Walloon Lake.