Emelie Mahdavian Interview: Bitterbrush
Filmmaker Emilie Mahdavian has worked the full gamut of roles from producer, writer, editor, and more. Mahdavian also made her directorial debut with the 2016 documentary After the Curtain. Her latest project as director is the newly released documentary Bitterbrush, which takes viewers to the sparsely populated Idaho plains to follow the live of a pair of ranchers for one season on the job.
In Bitterbrush, ranchers Hollyn Patterson and Colie Moline take on their latest job in tending to local cattle in an all but vacant corner of Idaho. As both women contemplate their respective futures in the ranching field, Bitterbrush follows their lives in their hilly terrain and the quiet, solitary work alongside the animals they tend to, giving audiences a look into ranching life.
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We speak to Emilie Mahdavian on the making of Bitterbrush, the logistical and location related challenges of making the film, and film the ranching lives of her two subjects in the film.
Screen Rant: How did the film Bitterbrush come about for you?
Emelie Mahdavian: I was living in Idaho, and Hollyn and Colie were actually my neighbors. I met them at my neighbor's for dinner, and I'd been wanting to make a film in the area and with women. As soon as I met Hollyn, it was apparent that she was this really witty person, so I approached her, and she said yes. So, I started pursuing the idea of making a film with her and Colie over this one season, and I pitched to them, and they both said yes.
Screen Rant: With Bitterbrush being a documentary on ranching life, what could you share about the process of making the film and following Hollyn and Colie's day-to-day lives?
Emelie Mahdavian: I think making
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