Wasatch Mountain Film Festival

Day: August 25, 2021

  • Q&A: Bachar Khattar

    Q&A: Bachar Khattar

    Bachar Khattar directed 2021 WMFF features “Confessions of a Runner” A blend of eye-popping scenery, extreme human achievement, and revealing personal stories, Confessions of a Runner features Patrick Vaughan, an accomplished trail runner as he shares his story of healing and redemption while pursuing the record for completing the 470-kilometre Lebanon Mountain Trail, traversing from Syria to the Israeli border. We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    Sony a7s , Fs7, zoom, mics

    What item can you not live without?

     

    Sound recorder

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Listens

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Muriel Aboulrouss

    More About Bachar Khattar

    Bachar Khattar, Director, was born in Lebanon, and grew up in Beirut, obtaining a degree in Audiovisual Studies in 2008 from Saint Joseph University. His first short film won the Best Short Film Award in Lebanon at the Notre Dame University, and he immediately moved into filming commercials, TV shows, and web series for popular artists in the region, as well as short documentaries.

    In 2014, Bachar worked as Director of Photography on Yemeniettes, his first feature documentary. The film showcased three Yemeni teenage girls who enter an entrepreneurship competition but along the way encounter the hardships of a country marked by a broken educational system, joblessness, and the threatening presence of Al-Qaeda. The project won several awards, including Best Documentary Award at the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, NY.

    An avid outdoorsman, Bachar’s love for the Lebanese countryside led him to meet Avedis Kalpaklian, the first Lebanon Mountain Trail Ultra runner, and subsequently Patrick Vaughan. He is the principal cinematographer for Confessions of a Runner, beginning with the race footage from June 2017.

     

    Bachar now lives with his wife and two-year-old son between Beirut and Ottawa. His fluency in three languages (English, Arabic, and French) allows him to meet different people with interesting stories to document.

  • Q&A: Eike Köhler

    Q&A: Eike Köhler

    Eike Köhler directed 2020 WMFF feature “Klarälven: From Source to Sea,” an adventure of three friends hitchhiking to the source of Sweden’s longest river. We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

     

    For “Klarälven: From Source to Sea“, my main camera used was a Panasonic GH5 with a Leica 50-200 mm and Sigma 13-35 mm. Also had a DJI Mavic Pro, GoPros and a Sony a6000 in an underwater case. Getting proper sound on water was crucial. Therefor I used waterproof lavalier mics and a Zoom H1 in a waterproof bag.

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

    We were carrying our kayaks over land, because the whitewater was too crazy. Out of nothing one of the little kayak trailers broke and we found ourself in the woods with heavy kayak – kilometers away from water on a gravel road. After an hour guys from the local rafting company approached with their cars and we put out the thumb for hitchhiking. They were extremely generous and took us to the next town. You can see this in our film.

    More About Eike Köhler

    Born in 1993 in Kiel. From 2014 to 2017 studied media informatics with focus on film at the University of Flensburg. While studying, numerous documentary films, portraying films and short films.
    Currently working for the national television.
    Eike Köhler lives in Kiel and Hamburg, Germany.