Champions of the Golden Valley
Champions of the Golden Valley
dir. Ben Sturgulewski
/
Germany, USA, Afganistan
/
2024
/
81 min
venue
date
time
available
Atlantic, B
2025-05-11
11:45
Kinoteka, 3
2025-05-13
11:45
Luna, A
2025-05-15
15:45
Państwowe Muzeum Etnograficzne, screening room
2025-05-18
14:00
In the mountains of Afghanistan, a passion for skiing attracts young athletes from rival villages to the slopes.
In the mountains of Afghanistan, a passion for skiing attracts young athletes from rival villages to the slopes. With minimal gear and makeshift wooden skis, the determined coach Alishah Farhang organizes a ski race like no other that unites the community in a moment of joy and triumph, before many of the skiers are displaced amid the country’s collapse. “Champions of the Golden Valley” captures the spirit of an underdog sports story with the heartfelt portrait of a community finding hope amid disrupted dreams. It is an uplifting exploration of what it means to be a champion – in all its forms.
The film is presented as part of the project Cinema as a Laboratory V co-founded by the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.
- duration:
- 81 min
- country / year of production:
- Germany, USA, Afganistan / 2024
- director:
- Ben Sturgulewski
- cinematography:
- Ben Sturgulewski, Jason Mannings
- production:
- Katie Stjernholm, Baktash Ahadi / Sturgefilm
- selected festivals and awards:
- 2025 - Tribeca Film Festival, DC/DOX, Port Townsend Film Festival – Best Cinematography, Heartland International Film Festival – Overall Audience Choice, Newport Beach Film Festival, Austin Film Festival – Audience Choice for Feature Documentary, SCAD Savannah Film Festival – Best Documentary, Banff Mountain Film Festival – Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award, Denver Film Festival – Audience Choice for Feature Documentary, 2025 - Millennium Docs Against Gravity: European Premiere
- tags:
