”Bitterbrush” with Emelie Mahdavian

Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

Hollyn and Colie are range riders. Every day during the summer, these highly skilled hired hands ride their horses across the remote, rugged Idaho mountains, pushing cows across sky-high ridges to their final destination. It’s hard work for low pay, but the rewards are plentiful: the thrill of the open range, the symbiotic relationship with their animals, and, not least of all, the close bond of friendship with each other. In her magical new documentary “Bitterbrush”, Emmy®, Peabody and Sundance Award-winning filmmaker Emelie Mahdavian (producer/writer/editor, “Midnight Traveler”) poetically and precisely captures the sights, sounds and timeless rhythms of this fiercely beautiful landscape. She also shows us, as few have before, the mutual love and support (and humor) that can happen between two women who care for each other as much as the land that will always be home.

Joining Ken for a wide-ranging conversation, Emelie describes how, living in this part of Idaho herself, she came to meet Hollyn and Colie and embark on this unique cinematic journey. In what ways did she avoid the clichés and tropes of the Western genre to forge her own narrative path? How did she and her cinematographers develop the right camera rigs to shoot images both awe-inspiring and intimate in such a challenging environment? And how did a magnetic 12-minute scene reveal as much to Colie about herself as it did to those watching? Saddle up and come along for this fascinating conversational ride.

“Bitterbrush” is being released in theaters by Magnolia Pictures starting on June 17th.

Hidden Gem:

Listening to Kenny G

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