'' Broken Trail '' weaves together two historical events : the British buying horses in the American West in the late 19th century and Chinese women being transported from the West Coast to the interior to serve as prostitutes . Filmed on location in Calgary , Alberta . The miniseries originally aired on American Movie Classics as its first original film . '' Broken Trail '' received 4 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Miniseries , Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries , Movie , or a Special , Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie ( Robert Duvall ) , and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie ( Thomas Haden Church )
Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
Broken Trail