‘Bitterbrush’ director Emelie Mahdavian filmed on horseback, in a blizzard, and up high to properly capture the plight of two female range riders.
knew the time was now. The documentary filmmaker was on the precipice of making her second documentary feature. It would be a demanding shoot: months out in remote Idaho, at high altitudes, shooting on horseback, and hiking—so much hiking. And Mahdavian was eight months pregnant. If she postponed, she would have to wait another year for the stars to align again. She had a choice to make.a sweeping, sumptuous look at the lives oftwo female range riders working over one demanding summer.
The film is beautifully lensed and narratively rich, debuting last year at the Telluride Film Festival. It has since received a limited theatrical release and is available to stream online. In an interview with, Mahdavian goes into detail about the process of shooting the film, what surprised her in the editing room, and how the horses actually influenced the film’s aesthetic.felt very cinematic in terms of the visual language and the score. It was very beautiful.
Something that maybe is alluded to in the film, but isn’t really super explicit is just how many days they’re getting on a horse that’s [only] got one or two rides on it and taking it out into the middle of nowhere to work. They are so confident in their skills and they have so much trust in each other that on any given day, it's not that uncommon that one of them is on a horse that’s pretty skittish and doesn’t have a lot of rides on it. And they’re way out beyond reception.
Yes, I was. I lived up there, so I was used to being at elevation and hiking and stuff, so I was just like, I’m going to just take a camera and make this movie. I knew it was the only time this was going to happen. It turned out to be a great point of connection because Hollyn has the same thing. She’s like, “I love what I do. I’m having a baby. How am I going to make this work?” And in the end, she does.
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