In recent memory, the American frontier has garnered popularity as a setting within cinema. The films of Chloe Zhao come to mind, from her acclaimed “The Rider” to “Nomadland,” which won her Best Picture and Best Director. With these works of fiction, viewers interested in the lives and locales of the American West may hanker for a taste of their true realities. Following its 2021 premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, the first trailer for the upcoming documentary “Bitterbrush” has premiered online, providing an open portrayal of real, rural humanity.
Based on our review (linked above) for the film from the aforementioned Telluride Film Festival, viewers of “Bitterbrush” can expect a story both personal in its portrayal of two young women of the West while painting a grander portrayal of the landscape as a whole. As stated in our review about the documentary’s persons of interest, “Hollyn’s nonchalant humor and matter-of-factness dances with Colie’s concern for severe topics such as the crisis facing independent farmers, given that the system benefits larger corporations.”
Film is often a means to portray places and people otherwise on the sidelines in news and other forms of media. In that regard, “Bitterbrush” sounds like another contribution to giving a well-deserved spotlight on ordinary people fighting the small but worthwhile battles of just trying to get by.
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Here’s the official synopsis:
“Bitterbrush” follows Hollyn Patterson and Colie Moline, range riders who are spending their last summer herding cattle in remote Idaho. Totally off the grid with only their dogs as companions, Hollyn and Colie brave inclement weather and perilous work conditions while pondering their futures. A portrait of friendship, life transitions, and the work of two skilled young women in the isolated and beautiful landscape of the American West, “Bitterbrush” is an intimate portrayal of a way of life rarely seen on film.
Released through Magnolia Pictures, A Concordia Studio, Wavelength, and Old Chilly Pictures, produced by Su Kim and Emelie Mahdavian, and directed by Emelie Mahdavian, “Bitterbrush” releases in theaters on June 17. Watch the new trailer below.