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| Greg Barker, director of “Sergio,” accepts the Audience Choice Award from Mountainfilm Festival Director David Holbrooke at the festival’s closing picnic on Monday. [Photo by Merrick Chase] |
‘Sergio’ is audience favorite at Mountainfilm
By Katie Klingsporn
Associate Editor
The 2009 Mountainfilm Festival plopped its audience in front of gorgeous canyons and tremendous acts of bravery, audacious hoaxes and evil corporate maneuvering, boundless compassion and extraordinary individuals.In the end, it was one of these individuals — Sergio Vieira de Mello — who stole the hearts of the movie-goers.
Greg Barker’s film, “Sergio” is a meticulously-crafted portrait of de Mello — the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights whose life was cut tragically short when a truck bomb exploded below his office in Baghdad. “Sergio” won the Audience Choice Award at this year’s festival.
The story, which is based on Samantha Power’s book “Chasing the Flame,” centers around the day the truck bomb detonated, rendering the UN building into a pile of rubble, with Sergio and others buried beneath. As it chronicles the incredible efforts by rescuers to dig him out, the film weaves in bits and pieces of de Mello’s tremendous life; a young revolutionary, a UN worker devoted to refugees, a charismatic Brazilian diplomat who had taken the position in Iraq despite his fierce opposition to the U.S. invasion of the country. The effect was devastating.
And at the end of the film, a surprise guest took the stage: Bill von Zehle, the special operations officer who fought so hard to save de Mello. If the movie didn’t have audience members tearing up, the sight of von Zehle did.
Greg Barker, the film’s director, offered a humble thank you to the crowd at Monday’s closing picnic, giving a special shout-out to von Zehle.
“Thanks to Bill ... the incredible hero of the film,” Barker said.
“Sergio” had its fair share of competition, as Mountainfilm brought a bundle of excellent films to Telluride this year. It stuck with its roots with climbing films like “Samsara” and “The Sharp End,” but the lineup was heavy on human rights, environmental and activist films, presentations and speakers.
It was one of these speakers who won the Festival Director’s Award: Tim DeChristopher, the 27-year-old University of Utah student who made headlines in December when he monkey-wrenched an oil and gas lease sale. That day, DeChristopher bought up $1.7 million worth of leases he never intended to pay for. He now faces up to 10 years in prison.
When he accepted his award, DeChristopher said: “Thanks for letting me know I’m not the only one willing to stand up for my future … that you are all with me.”
This year’s Moving Mountains Award, meanwhile, came with a surprise. The award, which is intended to go to one non-profit that is featured in a film, was reduced to $3,000 from $5,000 this year. But as judge and former Moving Mountains winner Ben Skinner explained to the picnic crowd on Monday, $3,000 just wasn’t satisfactory.
“This is the power to of a few committed citizens to change the world,” Skinner said.
The panel started chipping in, and as the word leaked, the prize money grew. In the end, these judges were able to award a $5,000 prize to two recipients: Democratic Voices of Burma from “Burma VJ” and Dr. Rick Hodes from “Making the Crooked Straight.”
Hodes is the miracle-working doctor who works in Ethiopia caring for children who have cancer or are stricken with deformities as a result of tuberculosis of the spine. Hodes also adopts many of the orphans he encounters, giving them a chance at education and a healthy life.
When he accepted his award, Hodes said he has 150 kids who are currently awaiting spine surgery.
“You guys are going a long way in helping me change the lives of these kids,” he said.
The festival’s Food For Thought award was snagged by “Food, Inc.” an excellent portrait of America’s broken food system — from inhumane working conditions at vast slaughterhouses to Monsanto’s relentless litigation against small farmers to the way corn has sneaked into nearly everything we eat — soda, cookies, even meat.
The Charlie Fowler Award, meanwhile, went to “Samsara,” the athlete-produced film about climbers Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk and Conrad Anker, who trek to the heart of India to attempt a first ascent of knife-like Mt. Meru — and endure a whole lot of suffering trying to summit it.
And the Aspiring Filmmaker’s Award — decided by a panel of students — went to “Surfing 50 States,” a light-hearted film about a pair of charismatic Australians who come to the United States with a singular goal: to surf in every state.
Festival Director David Holbrooke said the festival kept with its tradition of inspiration, accessibility, warmth, optimism and infectious energy.
“I think the film quality was great, but I think it’s these intangibles that make such a difference,” Holbrooke said.
“Going into it I was kind a little anxious,” he said. “The airport was closed, the road was torn up, there was dust in the mountains... But once it got rolling it really rolled.”