Celebrating 45 years this weekend is Breck Film Fest.
Over the next four days, Sept. 18-21, dozens of filmmakers are in town to show more than 100 short and feature-length films at three downtown venues.
Bringing his directorial debut, “La Gloria,” is Los Angeles screenwriter-turned-director J.T. Walker.
“’La Gloria’ is about a reclusive older rancher who lives on the frontier between Texas and Mexico on a migrant route,” Walker says. “One night he finds a wounded girl on his property, a migrant girl, and realizes he shot her. He must decide whether or not to help her, all the while pursued by his son on the border patrol.”
It sounds ripped from the headlines, and Walker believes that, yes, this film has a lot to say about race, immigration and current politics. But that is not why he wrote it.
“It’s mythological,” Walker says. “A migrant crossing into a new land meets the resistance of a native. It could happen almost anywhere at almost any time.”
The cast list is small and intimate, starring David Morse as the rancher and Nina Leon as the injured migrant. The setting is vast, inspired by – and filmed on – the ranch Walker’s grandparents owned in Texas.
“I remember hearing these folks, these migrants, crossing the property when I was a kid,” Walker says. “It was a very different time. It wasn’t nearly as fraught. People just crossed back and forth. They worked and went home.”
“La Gloria” screens Saturday, Sept. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at The Eclipse Theatre. Walker will be there in person.
Big Mountain Soul
Bringing a taste of international adventure to breck Film is local filmmaker Cam Sale. His latest project, “Big Mountain Soul: Ski Africa” is his festival feature debut.
“I get the call about three years ago saying, ‘Hey, man, we’re going to Morocco. Can you join us?’” Sale remembers. “So we put together some money and made it happen. It’s going to be a really cool film. We put blood, sweat and tears into this, literally. I’m excited to reap the rewards of our hard work, and I think it’s going to come across the screen how great this crew was.”
“Big Mountain Soul” follows a group of Black backcountry skiers on a mission to ski every continent. Filming in remote, rugged mountains is hard enough, Sale says. But filming in the severe High Atlas Mountains of Morocco? Otherworldly.
“I wish the cameras could capture smells, the vibrancy, the friendliness of the people, the smells of the food being cooked in the street, of fresh-baked bread,” Sale says. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and honestly, a life changing experience.”
Producing the film is John O’Connor, a Summit County native who always dreamed of having a film in his hometown film fest.
“I interned in 2007 as a projectionist for Breck Film,” O’Connor says. “Coming back now to have one of my own projects premiere with them is an honor.”
The two aren’t done yet, and neither is Big Mountain Soul. They are already planning the next ski film in Antarctica.
“Big Mountain Soul: Ski Africa” premieres Friday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m. at the Riverwalk Center. Sale, O’Connor and partners host a Q&A after the screening.